Naruto: Shoton of Konoha
by Arch-Daishou00
Summary: :For Stormy Rebel, miss ya Joachim and thank you: "By the actions of the traitor Mizuki. Naruto awakens a rare Kekkei Genkai. And his path has now changed. And in the darkness awakens an ancient threat more terrifying than the Akatsuki stirs thought only of myths from a lost and forgotten age." :huge world expansion story, OC.
1. Discovery

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto

Adopted from Stormy Rebel. Thank you Joachim. Miss ya man!

 _ **"Hello folks. This is Arch-Daishou. Yes it's been a long while, and this is a new profile. Short version, my old computer went to shit. Spent 7 long months going into the depths of madness till today finally got a rebuilt computer.**_

 _ **But the entertainment did not stop there boys and girls, my old account got messed up and can no longer go into it. Fun, Fun. So will be republishing my stories onto this new profile. On one hand get to do some work on the chapters. So small plus.**_

 _ **Glad to be back, and hope you enjoy!"**_

 **ATTENTION** : **_Chapters 1 -15_** I kept the same in honor of my late friend Stormy who gave me this story. The only things I've done it do touch ups and fixes. That be it. Enjoy!

Hope you like!

"Normal speech"

 **"Demon/Corrupted speech"**

 _'Normal thoughts'_

 _ **'Demon/Corrupted thoughts'**_

 **Chapter 1: Discovery**

"Why would you help a demon? It killed your parents didn't it? It only thinks about itself, how it can get stronger, how it can get revenge" Mizuki said while he looked at Iruka lay bleeding on the forest floor.

Naruto was behind a tree at the tree line, trying to stay as quiet as possible. He still couldn't fathom what Mizuki-sensei had said _. 'I am the fox? I'm the Kyuubi no Yoko? I can't be… can I?'_ It made more and more sense when he thought about it. That was why all the villagers hated him. That was why no one cared for him. That was why he didn't have parents.

"You are right. That's how the fox would be" Iruka said. Naruto tried hard not to cry out loud. Even Iruka agreed. The only person other than the Sandaime Hokage who actually cared for him, the one he thought was like a father, or maybe a brother, thought he was a demon.

"But that is not who Uzumaki Naruto is! He is one of the most caring person I know, and he just wants to be acknowledged! He may have that damned fox sealed inside him, but that doesn't make him the fox, more than a sealing scroll makes it what is sealed inside it! He is my student, and more than that, he is a person I care a great deal about! He is like family to me! I won't let you hurt him!"

Naruto was smiling. And not just a little smile; it was an ear to ear, sun shining out of your mouth; your chin is hurting smile. He had someone who thought him as family! Then his face turned serious. Iruka-sensei, his big brother figure, his precious person, was going to get hurt!

Naruto ran out from his hiding spot, just to see Mizuki throw his fuma shuriken. Naruto ran as fast as he could, but he wasn't fast enough. He could see it get closer and closer to Iruka-sensei. Naruto ran and ran, but he wasn't fast enough. It was 3 meters from Iruka now. He wouldn't make it. He wasn't fast enough to protect the first person to really acknowledge him. "NO!" Naruto yelled with all his might, his arm reaching out for Iruka.

The earth began to quake, and a big cluster of pink crystals grew out of the ground, blocking the shuriken. That left two Academy instructors and student speechless and stunned. Naruto snapped out of it first, turning to face Mizuki with the most serious look he had ever given. He pointed at him "I won't let you hurt Iruka-sensei. Not now, not ever!"

He put his hand in front of him, weaving a hand seal crossing his index- and middle fingers " _Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_ ". A big cloud of smoke exploded in the forest. When the smoke cleared, Mizuki and Iruka couldn't believe what they were seeing. Over a thousand orange clothed Naruto's were standing in the clearing and the surrounding trees. As one they charged towards Mizuki. "Not now, not ever!"

Screams could be heard all over Konoha, as the now traitorous Konoha-nin was beaten by a twelve year old academy student.

 **\- Two minutes later -**

"Sorry Iruka-sensei, I think I may have gone a bit overboard" the blonde said with his trademark smile, while scratching the back of his head.

Iruka stood dumb founded while staring at Naruto. He turned it into a smile "I think I can overlook it this once". He turned his head to look at the discolored formation of meat that was Mizuki lying on the forest floor. He then turned his gaze a bit to look at the big crystal-formation what was that. He turned his gaze back on Naruto, who was still grinning. "Close your eyes Naruto"

Naruto just stared back at him "why?"

Iruka rolled his eyes "Just do it Naruto."

 **\- A few minutes later -**

"Iruka-sensei, are you done soon? Can I open my eyes already" Naruto asked in an annoyed tone.

"Just a minute" Iruka chuckled.

"There, now open your eyes" Naruto did as he was told. There, right in front of him, was Iruka-sensei smiling at him. But something was off, something was missing. It took Naruto a few seconds to figure out. He didn't have hitai-ate on. Naruto's hand slowly made its way to his forehead.

"Yay, I did it! I'm a ninja of Konoha! I'm going to be Hokage in no time! Believe it!" Naruto began ranting. But Iruka's thoughts were miles away though those crystals _. 'Did Naruto make them? How did he do that? Does he have a kekkei genkai? If it is, it's not one I have ever seen or heard of before. I guess it is possible he could have one, since no one knows who his parents are. I better report to Sandaime soon. He would want to know this.'_

"Ano, Iruka-sensei," Iruka's focus snapped back at Naruto

"Sensei, is it true about the fox?"

Iruka smiled sadly; "I'm afraid it is"

Naruto looked down on the ground. He mumbled something in audible.

"What?"

"Am I the fox then?" Naruto asked with tears in his eyes.

Iruka placed his hand on Naruto's head and ruffled his hair "Didn't you hear me back there? You are no more the fox, than a sealing scroll is the kunai sealed inside it"

"Did you mean the other thing to?" Naruto asked carefully

"What other-"He looked at the blond, before displaying a large smile "Yeah, I meant it. Little brother"

Naruto looked up at Iruka again with a smile wider than when he had gotten his hitai-ate. Before Iruka knew it, he was tackled by the little blonde, hugging him tightly while sniffling.

 **\- In the Hokage's office -**

The Sandaime had seen it all through his "magic" little crystal ball _. 'To think Mizuki would betray the village like that. I knew he had some grudges, but to think he would go this far…'_ He looked at the crystal ball, seeing his grandson in spirit hugging the Academy instructor _'At least something good came out of this whole ordeal. He have finally found someone else than me that he knows acknowledges him then he frowned but what was those pink crystals? I have never seen anything like it. I'll ask Jiraiya about it next time he comes to report in. He may know something about Minato or Kushina that I don't.'_

He looked at the crystal ball again. The two Konoha shinobi were walking out of the forest hand in hand, the smaller figure jumping up and down, while the bigger looked down on him with a smile on his lips. Hiruzen leaned back into his chair, looking up at the ceiling _'Ah, I guess I better call back the search parties so they don't drag him off the street.'_ And with that thought, Hiruzen made his way out of his office.

 **\- The next morning with Naruto -**

Naruto yawned loudly as he sat up in his bed. He didn't really know what to do the next few days but train. It was not like he had any friends to hang out with. Sure Chouji and Shikamaru didn't hate his guts, but that was about it.

There was still six days left till the new teams got assigned. He didn't really care that much about who he got teamed up with _. 'Just not from the Sasuke-teme. Please let it be anyone but Sasuke-teme.'_ And he wouldn't mind if he got teamed up with Sakura-chan. _'though I could imagine she would have a problem with that…'_ He frowned at that thought. "Well, better get up and get going" he said to himself jumping off the bed, and heading for the bathroom.

He had just opened the "newly" made instant-ramen when an ANBU appeared in front of him. Naruto froze the instant he saw the ANBU. _'What have I done this time? I haven't done any pranks since I painted over the Hokage monument. Right after that, it was the test, and then the whole thing with Mizuki-teme.'_

"Calm down Uzumaki-san. You haven't done anything – this time" he waited a second, while giving Naruto a look. It felt like that anyway. "Hokage-sama has summoned you. You should be there within the next hour" The ANBU said, and shunshined away before Naruto could respond.

' _Well, it's not like I have anything else I have to do today. I wonder what jiji wants'_ he wondered while slurping the noodles in him. Three bowls and another toilet visit, and he was on his way to the Hokage Tower

Naruto walked down the hallway where you could enter the Hokage's office from. As he walked past the receptionist, he got a dark glare. The blonde ignored it, like all the other glares. He knocked on the door and heard a quick "enter" before turning the door knob.

"Ah, Naruto, thank you for coming so quickly. We have a few things to talk about". Naruto looked around the room while his grandfather-figure talked. There was three shinobi standing in front of him. The two first he recognized right away: Sandaime-jiji and Iruka-sensei. The last one, not so much; on first eyesight Naruto could see he was old. Not as old as jiji, but at least up in his fifties. He had long white hair and some red war-paint running down his face from his eyes to his chin. He had a hitai-ate with the kanji for oil on it.

"Tora, Uma, please leave the office. I think we can defend ourselves against a twelve year old Genin" the Hokage said. Two ANBU appeared from the shadows before shunshining away.

"Now, Naruto, why don't you take a seat and explain us what happened yesterday" Hiruzen said, gesturing towards a chair.

Naruto went over to the chair and sat down. He turned towards Iruka for reassurance that he wasn't in any trouble. The scarred Chunin just smiled and nodded back at him. That was all Naruto needed, as he began rambling about what had happened, all from the way he had painted to Hokage monument, to how Mizuki had come to him after the exam, to the battle in the forest.

"And then I ran towards Iruka-sensei, trying to reach him before the fuma shuriken hit him, but I couldn't make it. I wasn't fast enough. And then…." Naruto trailed off, while looking up on Iruka with a confused and pleading look.

"And then the earth began to quake, and crystals grew out of the earth, deflecting the shuriken away" Iruka finished. Naruto looked around for the reactions. Sandaime-jiji and the white-haired guy didn't show any. They had calm collected faces.

"I see…. Please continue Naruto" the Sandaime said calmly.

Naruto continued his story, to the point where he had used a kinjutsu, and to where he got his hitai-ate, and the ramen Iruka-sensei had bought for him afterwards.

When Naruto was finished the room was quiet for a minute or two. Naruto was looking carefully at the three shinobi in the room.

"Jiraiya, do you have any idea what those crystals may have been?" the Sandaime asked.

Jiraiya looked at Naruto; taking in everything he saw ' _Gods, he looks so much like Minato. But from what I've heard, he has inherited Kushina's fiery personality.'_

"I may know…. I heard a rumor a while back. I had just set out on my journey. The nations were still recovering from the third great war, and everyone wore their nerves on the outside of their clothes. I heard that a whole village up in Ta no Kuni had been destroyed by a single jutsu. Now that alone isn't something to raise eyebrows over, it was the jutsu in question that was used that was."

"Where are you going with this Jiraiya-sama" Iruka asked in a mild annoyed tone. He had already concluded that it was Naruto who had made those crystals. But he didn't know why or how, or if it was dangerous in any way.

"Everything for its own time" Jiraiya said, looking calmly at Iruka, who was glaring lightly back at him. "Apparently it was destroyed by crystals. Now these crystals just grew out of nowhere, they encased people and plants alike. No one knew how". Jiraiya continued. He looked around on the small group "It later got the name Shoton" Iruka's eyes bulged out of their sockets. While he had expected something like that, it was still a bit of a shock. Naruto just looked confused at Jiraiya.

"I thought the same thing. There's only one way to find out" The Sandaime said, while going through his drawers. He pulled out a little piece of paper, and handed it to Naruto. "Please run your chakra through this".

Naruto looked questioning at the Hokage for a moment before complying. When he did, the paper split into two, where after each piece turned dark brown, before crumbling. Now Naruto looked even more confused.

"Eh, what just happen jiji?" Naruto looked at the Hokage.

"Well, Naruto, it looks like you have a kekkei genkai" the old Hokage replied calmly.

"A what?" Naruto asked, looking more confused than ever.

After twenty minutes of the older shinobi trying to explain the basics of elemental manipulation and kekkei genkai, the blonde finally got it… somewhat.

"But how? I mean…. Wait, you said this, this kekkei genkai is genetic, right?"

The old Hokage looked at Naruto, knowing where this was going "Yes, it is".

"Do you think, maybe…" rest was mumbling, as he turned his head down.

"Sorry Naruto, you will have to speak up. I'm not as young as I have been" the old Hokage said to Naruto with a kind smile.

"Do you think this will help me finding out who my parents were? We just have to find someone who had the same abilities as me, and they must have been my family, right?" Naruto asked hopefully.

The old man looked sad at Naruto. "I don't think that's possible. It is true that Shoton is a kekkei genkai, but it isn't bound to a family as, let's say, the Byakugan is." _'I wish I could tell you who you parents were. You just have to be a bit stronger before I can tell you. Minato and Kushina had some powerful enemies. Just hold on a bit longer. You will know soon enough.'_

Naruto's mood dropped a second, but he came right up again smiling "I guess I'll just have to find another way then"

The older shinobi smiled at that. There were very few in this world similar to Naruto.

The Sandaime then caught the glance he was getting from Iruka. He sighed deeply. He didn't know how Naruto would react.

"Naruto…" He said gently. He got the attention of the blue-eyed blonde "About the Kyuubi. Are you ok?"

Naruto's smiled faltered slightly, but he was still smiling "Yeah. I guess I'm… I'm kind of relieved"

The Sandaime Hokage eyed him. "Relieved?"

"Yeah. I finally understand why. Why all the villagers hate me so much. Why I'm getting all those looks. Guess I'll just have to work harder on getting them to acknowledge me, despite that damned fox".

Iruka was smiling at his student. He was proud at how well he was handling it. He wasn't sure he could've done it well as him. "That's good to hear Naruto. Don't let it get you down. If you have any problems, no matter whom or what it is, you just come to me. My door is always open".

That got Naruto to grin while putting his hand behind his head. "Thanks Iruka-sensei."

"Well, it's good that that's settled. Now Naruto, we don't know how this Shoton works, so please don't use any chakra before we have taken a look at how it's used." The old Hokage said with a serious undertone. Naruto nodded. The Sandaime then turned to Jiraiya.

"Jiraiya, meet with me and Naruto tomorrow at training ground 43 at noon"

"Hai."

"Good" The Sandaime turned to the blonde. "Naruto –"

"I know, I know. Tomorrow at training ground 43 at noon. Don't use chakra until then. Can I go now?" Naruto asked eagerly. Now having spent almost two hours in the room, he was getting restless.

The Sandaime chuckled. "Yes, you can go. You're dismissed." And then the blonde shinobi dashed out of the office.

The Hokage then turned towards Iruka "You're dismissed to, Iruka."

Iruka nodded and made his way to the door. Halfway there he turned to face the Hokage "Do you think he will be ok?"

The Sandaime looked up at Iruka with a smile "You really do care about him, don't you?" Iruka nodded with a smile. "I think he will be fine. He has gotten some answers today. That should help him some."

"Hai" Iruka said before continuing walking towards the office door. Just as he was about to close the door, the old Hokage called him out.

"Iruka, take care of him"

Iruka just smiled at the Hokage. "Hai"

 **\- The following day at training ground 43 -**

Naruto and the Sandaime were talking as there were still a few minutes until they should meet with Jiraiya. Hiruzen turned towards Naruto and took a good look at him. He still wore that bright orange jumpsuit "Naruto, don't you think it's time you soon bought some new clothes?"

Naruto looked outrageous at the Hokage at that question "Why! What is wrong with my clothes?" he asked while looking down, tucking on his clothes a bit.

"Well, you're ninja now. And ninja's can't really go around with bright colors so the enemy will spot them faster, can they?"

"…I guess you have some point" Naruto grumbled. "But what am I supposed to do? I can't really go into a regular clothing store, since they won't sell me anything. And the few places that will triple or quadruple the prices as soon as I enter".

Hiruzen frowned at that. Naruto had a good point. He would have to talk to the boys' new Jounin instructor about that. Maybe he could help him.

A puff of smoke appeared in front of them.

"Glad to see you could make it Jiraiya" Hiruzen said to his former student.

"I hope I'm not late?"

"No, you just made it. Well, let's get to it" the two elder shinobi turned towards Naruto.

"Now, the reason we're here is because we need to make sure your Shoton isn't dangerous" the Hokage said.

"Why would it be dangerous?" the orange clad Genin asked.

It was Jiraiya who answered "well, normally with jutsu, the greater the power, the greater are the risks. We want to make sure you don't hurt yourself."

Naruto didn't seem convinced, but complied. Jiraiya nodded at Hiruzen.

"Good then. Naruto, can you tell me how you did it in the forest?"

"I don't really know. I just tried everything to save Iruka-sensei. I was desperate and was willing to do anything to save him. I had my arm put out like this" Naruto said while showing what he had done. As before the earth began to quake, and pink crystals appeared out of the ground. Both Jiraiya and Hiruzen were wide-eyed. While Hiruzen had seen it through his crystal ball, it was another thing to see it happen with your own eyes.

"How did you do it?" Jiraiya asked.

"I… I don't know. I just put channeled some chakra, while thinking of the crystals from yesterday" Naruto answered.

Jiraiya thought about that for a bit. He then got an expression like he had an idea "try to think of it shattering"

Naruto did what he said, and to his amazement, the crystal shattered in tiny pieces, making the air glitter lightly in pink.

"Amazing" was all Jiraiya could say.

Hiruzen looked at Jiraiya "What are you thinking?"

"I think it's controlled by his thoughts. He has to channel the chakra to make it, but he just have to think of what he wants, and it's going to do it. It will probably not work on higher level jutsu, but I on the lower… I would say D- and C-rank jutsu; he just has to think of it"

Hiruzen nodded while looking at Naruto. "Ok Naruto, try to make"…

 **\- Next morning in Naruto's apartment -**

Naruto yawned loudly while stretching. He took a few minutes sitting in bed and waking up, before making his way to the bathroom.

While he was taking a bath he was thinking about what happened yesterday. They had discovered a lot about his Shoton. It is a combination of fuuton and doton, as the chakra paper had said. Jiraiya had theorized that he used doton to find minerals and stuff like that, while he used fuuton to compress it under high pressure, successfully making crystals.

He could crystallize anything they put him to. Earth, wood, water, grass, really anything that had mass, and wasn't energy. He could even crystallize living things, as they had discovered when he accidentally crystallized a bug. It was really like having a weapon on hand all the time.

Jiraiya had also told him about the secrets of Kage Bunshin halfway through the day, so he had made about a hundred clones, putting them to learning his Shoton, thus why he already had such control over it. Jiraiya said he was the only one who could train this way, due to him having such a large chakra reserves.

When they were about to leave, Hiruzen had pulled him aside and asked him to go to the library today. Naruto wasn't really a reader, and had complained loudly about it, but as Hiruzen said "If you want to be a ninja and the Hokage nonetheless, you need to have knowledge about the world. If not, people will just use you." That had made Naruto promise that he would do it. He also planned to go find a store who would sell him a new outfit, though he didn't know if he would be successful.

Naruto ate his breakfast and brushed his teeth, before making his way out the door.

"Scram demon! And don't come back!" Naruto sighed as he was kicked out of another store. Walking off Naruto tried to think of a way to get into a store. He could use Henge, but it would dispel as soon as someone touched him. And he couldn't just use the "I'm a ninja under the direct command of the Hokage" deal. It would only work on buildings owned by the government, like the library, not private-owned stores. He sighed deeply again.

Looking around the blond found a store that looked fairly non-descriptive. The only sign that told him it was for shinobi was the rather large kunai symbol above the door and the sign that read 'Higarashi Weapon Shop'. Deciding to give this place a try Naruto walked in.

Looking around, the first thing Naruto noticed was that whoever owned this place had an obvious love for weapons. There were racks upon racks of weapons lining the entire shop. Swords, Staffs, Scythes it seemed that anything anyone could name was there. He had never seen so many different weapons in one place ever, and some of these weapons he had never seen at all. It was enough to make even someone like Naruto, who knew next to nothing about weapons, drool.

"Can I help you?"

Naruto stiffened and almost shouted as he spun around. Behind him was a young girl that was maybe a year older than him, wearing a Chinese style pink tank top, dark green cargo pants and had her hair done up in two buns. To Naruto they made her kind of look like a panda. 'Or a mouse'. Naruto did his best not to snicker at the thought.

"Hello?" Tenten asked, while waving her hand in front of Naruto's face. He blinked a couple of times.

"Um… what?" Naruto said, blushing in embarrassment as he took a step back and put a hand behind his head.

The girl just looked at him before she rolled her eyes at the kid's inattentiveness and shrugged. "I was asking if you needed help finding anything."

"Erm…" Naruto blinked in surprise. "You work here?"

"That's right!" the girl said. "My name is Higarashi Tenten. My father owns this store so I come in and help when I'm not on missions."

"You're a shinobi then?" Naruto asked curiously.

"Yep, I've been a shinobi for about a year now," Tenten replied.

"That's awesome!" Naruto stated with a large grin. "I just graduated…" he blinked as he remembered why he was here. "You know you can help me, I was looking into getting some new clothes!"

"I can see why," Tenten said with an amused smirk. "Your clothes are hideous."

"Hey!" Naruto said, feeling the need to defend his clothes. "These clothes are warm and comfortable and-"

"Ugly," Tenten finished with a grin, "seriously who wears orange?"

"I like orange!" Naruto shouted indignantly. Seriously, what was it with people continuing to dis on the color orange? It was the best color in the world! "It's my favorite color!"

"Even so, it's not a very good color for a ninja." Tenten replied, finding the boys defensiveness amusing. "Especially when it's so bright."

He took a deep breath to calm down a bit. "I guess I can see the logic in that. Anyways, can you help me?"

"Sure," Tenten replied, amused by Naruto's reaction. She took him over to the clothing section of the store. "So what are you looking for exactly?" she asked.

Naruto thought about what he wanted to look like. He needed something that made him look cool and added a mysterious persona to him. Something that screamed powerful and awesome! Something...

"You know… I'm not sure," he said sheepishly. "I've never really shopped for clothes before so…" He had actually tried clothes shopping once when he was six and had just gotten an apartment, however the store owners had kicked him out before he could actually shop. That had actually been the same day he found his jumpsuits in the trash, after the same store he tried to shop from had thrown them away.

"You're kidding right?" Tenten looked at him incredulously. When he shook his head she sighed. "Then it looks like we're just going to have to see what works." She pulled him over to the clothing section of the store, where she began grabbing different styles of clothes and then making him change into many styles she gave him, essentially turning him into a life sized dress up doll.

Eventually she found a style that fit. Now Naruto was wearing dark black shinobi pants that tucked into a pair of black shinobi sandals. He had a black sleeveless Chinese style shirt like hers but with a dark orange trims and with the Uzumaki swirl on the back of it, she had tried to talk him out of wearing any orange but was unsuccessful in getting the blond to completely rid himself of his favorite color. At least there was less orange then before and it was in a darker tone then his jumpsuit had been. His hands were covered in fingerless gloves and his arms were also covered in black bandages up to his biceps. Lastly she changed the strap of his hitai-ate, from the dark blue color to black.

"There, you look much better now," Tenten said, smiling at him. Indeed he did look much better, now that she was seeing him without all the orange he actually looked cute. "Now you're like a real shinobi."

"You think so?" Naruto blushed as he scratched the back of his head.

"Of course! So will that be all?" Tenten asked.

"Yes I think so. For now anyway" he responded with a smile.

"Tenten, are you out front?"

Both Naruto and Tenten yelled as they spun around.

Naruto found himself staring at a bull of man. Large and built like brick shit house. The man had muscles on every part of his body that Naruto could see; he even had muscles on his muscles! He had brown hair and brown eyes much like Tenten. He was wearing an off white shirt, brown pants and a pair of brown boots.

"Damn it tou-san!" Tenten shouted as she clutched a hand to her chest. "How many times have I told you not to sneak up on me? And especially when I'm with a customer!"

Tenten's dad merely laughed, "Ah take it easy Tenten. Beside aren't you shinobi supposed to be more aware of your surroundings?"

"Do you want to be used as target practice again?" Tenten asked with a maniacal gleam in her eyes and had one of her hands inside her kunai pouch.

Her dad merely sweats dropped before he coughed and turned his attention to Naruto. He looked him up and down, immediately recognizing him. That didn't matter to him; he wasn't as narrow sighted as some of the other villagers. He worked with sealing scrolls on a daily basis; he knew that the boy in front of him wasn't the demon. And if he had been, he would probably already have destroyed the village, with the way some treated him.

Naruto watched with a mixture of shock and weariness as the man looked him over. He was already expecting to get thrown out. No one wanted to sell the "demon brat" anything. But Tenten's dad just smiled at him, walking over to the cash-register, typing in all that his daughter had noted on a block.

"Now all that stuff you got there will come to around 5,000 yen," Tenten's dad said.

Naruto cringed a bit but got out the necessary money, it would put him back by a lot, especially since he would no longer be able to gain a stipend from the Hokage since he was a ninja. But this was for his shinobi-career, so he had to. He took out his frog-shaped green wallet, much to the amusement of Tenten, and put the money on the table.

"Thank you kid. Hope you'll come back" Tenten's dad said to Naruto while counting the money Naruto had left.

He gave the two there one of his most brilliant smiles. "Thanks mister…"

"Kaito," the man replied.

"Thanks Kaito-san," Naruto bowed before grabbing his equipment and running off with a grin. "I'll make sure your store becomes famous when it's selling to me as the Hokage!" he yelled out as he left for the library.

Naruto was standing outside a big building, a building he had never thought he would set foot in – the library. He sighed deeply and made his way through the front doors. He hadn't made his way in more than a few meters, when a voice called out behind him.

"Can I help y-. What do you want? I'm sorry, but you will have to leave - Now." Naruto turned around to see who it was. It turned out to be the custodian, a woman who looked to be in her mid-fifties said, spitting out the word boy with venom.

Naruto remembered what Hiruzen had said to him the day before. Naruto tapped his finger on his hitai-ate "I am a ninja of Konoha, under the command of the direct command of the Hokage. And can I remind you that this is a government owned building? And who again runs the government? That's right, the Hokage does. Thus, you can't kick me out of here" the custodian was clearly irritated by this, but as Naruto had pointed out, she couldn't kick him out.

She sighed "Fine, but if you break anything, you will be sorry" she said, and walked away.

Naruto snorted mentally at this. Since he was told about the Kyuubi, he had been near stunned by the naivety of the population of Konoha. One thing was the civilians who knew nothing of sealing, but the ninja-population too? They used sealing on a daily basis.

He shook it off him, and made his way to the shinobi section of the library. When he was there, he put his hands in a ram seal, making ten clones.

"Alright guys, I need your help finding some books. Anything on chakra, seals, Taijutsu and basic shinobi skills will be fine. Also, try to find something on bijuu, Jinchuuriki and anything related". With that said, he and his clones looked through the bookshelves looking for said books. In the end he found twenty-seven on the various subjects. He made his way home, and began to read.

 **\- Three days later -**

Naruto was on his way to training ground 43. Jiji had given it to train the week before the team assignments, which was still two days away. The Sandaime had said it was because he needed to get his Shoton under control before getting on a team, so he wouldn't put them or himself in danger with it.

He made his way to the training field, and did what he had done the last few days. He put his hand to form the ram seal, and made about one hundred clones, and split them up to do various tasks.

Fifty clones were working on his Shoton, which were coming along nicely. He had learned to crystallize stuff fast, and could even make crystals from the humidity in the air. He had also made quite a few new jutsu, most of the based on jutsu of other elements. It wasn't as hard as he had thought it to be. He would just have to think about something crystallizing, and it would.

The next twenty-five were working on his chakra control. He had perfected the floating leaf exercise that they had learned in the academy, and were now slowly making progress on the tree-climbing exercise. He could run up the tree by now, and could walk about two quarters of the way. He had decided that he wouldn't move on before he could fight on a vertical surface for about ten minutes.

And the last quarter were reading. Reading anything he could get his hands on. Most of the jutsu and exercises were from the books. He had learned a lot about bijuu, one of the subjects he was most interested in, for obvious reasons.

He continued training the next few days, until the team assignments.

 **\- The day of the team assignments -**

The alarm clock ringed high. Naruto almost fell out of his bed, trying to punch the stupid thing into oblivion. When he finally managed to turn of the stupid thing, he sat up, scratching his eyes and looked around with sleepy eyes. He saw the calendar, and within a second he was wide awake. _'Today I get my team assignment!'_

He jumped out of the bed, and made his way to the bathroom to wash up and brush teeth. He thought about what he had done the last week. He had advanced rather quickly due to the Kage Bunshin; he had done almost two years of training in the last week. He now had decent control over Shoton, but it could still be improved. His chakra control were a ton better; he could know fight on the tree surface for about four minutes, before he fell off. And he had read. He was surprised how much it had mattered. He could actually understand what people were saying most of the time now. Nothing like when the week started. Overall, he had improved a lot, though he still needed to be careful. The third day he had dispelled all his clones at once, and had fainted from fatigue alone. He had woken up an hour later with a throbbing headache. He wasn't do that again, and had the following days dispelled his clones in groups of ten, with a few minutes interval.

He had also met Konohamaru, the "honorable grandson of the Sandaime Hokage", and his teacher Ebisu, who hated his guts. He had met Konohamaru when he had turned in his Ninja Registration Form. Konohamaru had come to challenge the Sandaime for the title of Hokage, but had tripped over his own scarf, halfway across the room. It had been fun to see the reaction of his teacher, when he slammed him across the head after he learned who he was.

Konohamaru had followed him later, asking him to teach him. Naruto had complied, and taught him Henge no Jutsu and Oiroke no Jutsu. Later Ebisu had come, saying he didn't want Naruto to teach. Konohamaru couldn't figure out why, but Naruto knew right away, when he saw the eyes of Ebisu. It was the same as most of the villagers – full of hate towards him, for something he had no control over what so ever. He had beaten him with his new Haremu no Jutsu, sending him flying halfway across Konoha because of his nosebleed. He had after told Konohamaru that there was no shortcut to becoming the Hokage, and that he had to beat him to get there. Konohamaru told him that they weren't student and teacher anymore; they were rivals. He had left after that.

After he was done in the bathroom, he made his breakfast, which was made up of bread and various vegetable. Naruto had read that he needed to eat better if he wanted to grow. Naruto was still the shortest from his class, which annoyed him to no end. He was sitting and eating, looking across the room. He saw the new picture he had put up the day before. It was his picture for the ninja registration. He had asked Hiruzen if he could get a copy of it to hang up, and was allowed. He was in the picture, of course, and stood with an angel to the camera, with his hand, back down towards the ground, pointing slightly towards it. From his hand, to the corner of the picture, and across the top, the air was glimmering slightly pink, clear evidence of his Shoton. It had taken some persuasion on his part, but the Hokage had finally said yes. He was quite proud of it; clear evidence of his shinobi status.

After he was done with his breakfast, he bolted out the door, and made his way to the Academy. _'Today I'm going to get a team. I am officially going to be a Genin, a ninja of Konoha. It's the first step on the way to become the Hokage.'_

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

Kage Bunshin no Jutsu – Shadow Clone Technique: Similar to the Bunshin no Jutsu, this technique creates clones of the user. However, these clones are actual copies, not illusions. The user's chakra is evenly distributed among every clone, giving each clone an equal fraction of the user's overall power. The clones are capable of performing techniques on their own and can even bleed, but will usually disperse after one or two solid blows. They can also disperse on their own. The clones will be created in roughly the same condition as the original. When they disperse, all the knowledge they have gained return to the creator.

Bunshin no Jutsu – Clone Technique: A Ninjutsu that creates an intangible copy of one's own body, without any substance. Since the clone itself doesn't have the ability to attack, and thus can only be used to confuse the enemy, it is mainly used in combination with other Ninjutsu. It's a basic technique, but depending on one's ingenuity, it can be used effectively. The clones will dissipate when they come into contact with something.

Kekkei Genkai – Bloodline Limit (Literally meaning "a technique limited to inheritance by blood"): are abilities passed down genetically in specific clans. It's possible for a ninja to have more than one of these abilities. Kekkei genkai abilities that work via the user's eye are called dojutsu. Other kekkei genkai include mixing one type of elemental chakra with another, creating a new one unique to the users, which is usually impossible for normal ninja.

Dojutsu – Eye Techniques: are kekkei genkai that utilize the eyes, granting the wielder ocular abilities? Being a by-product of specific kekkei genkai, dojutsu are not classified as one of the major jutsu types. They do not require the use of hand seals and in some cases facilitate in the use of or defense against Genjutsu, Taijutsu and Ninjutsu and then defeat their opponent. All known dojutsu also provide the user with some unique abilities, such as an extended field of vision or predictive capabilities. The use of dojutsu often-time consumes a great deal of chakra.

Shoton – Crystal Release: is a rare and specialized field of elemental Ninjutsu that can create crystal as well as manipulate already-existing crystals and crystalline structures.

Doton – Earth Release: is one of the basic elemental nature transformation techniques and allow the user to manipulate the surrounding earth for offensive and defensive purposes or create it; be it dirt, mud, or rock.

Fuuton – Wind Release: is one of the five basic elemental nature transformations. It is performed by making chakra as sharp and thin as possible. Wind Release is mainly short to mid-ranged offensive techniques that combine brute force and keen precision to deal cutting and slashing damage. A rarity among the five chakra natures, wind techniques are usually performed by generating air circulation and can be enhanced through this method as well. Wind-nature chakra can also be channeled into blades to increase their cutting power and overall range.

Katon – Fire Release: is one of the basic elemental nature transformations. It is performed by molding super-heated chakra inside the stomach before releasing it via the lungs and mouth. There are also variants to this in the form of some mediums such as the use of gun powder, explosive tags and chakra flow into a weapon.

Suiton – Water Release: is one of the basic elemental nature transformation techniques that allow the user to manipulate per-existing water, or create their own, by turning their chakra into water. It takes much more ability to create the water than to manipulate what is already available and expel it from their mouths. One of the most versatile of the five basic chakra natures, Water Release techniques can not only change shape but state as well. Moreover, the water becomes more solid in the process as well

Raiton – Lightning Release: is one of the basic elemental nature transformation techniques that allow the user to generate lightning by increasing the high frequency vibrations of their chakra, allowing for piercing damage and fast movement. The electricity paralyses the target so that they are unable to move and leave them vulnerable to a finishing strike. While uncommon, lightning can be infused into bladed weapons in a way similar to fuuton through chakra flow for increased the piercing power through vibrations, with the added effect of inducing numbness. When the technique is released from their bodies, and thus not requiring physical contact, it does not move as fast as true lightning. Instead, due to the control the user has to exert over it, it moves far slower, which give opponents can time to still react. Based on the exhaustion seen when using Lightning Release techniques, it can be presumed that they require more chakra than the other nature transformations

Kyuubi no Yoko – The nine tailed fox.

Bijuu – Tailed Beast: The tailed beasts are large, living forms of chakra, sometimes referred to as "Chakra Monsters", giving them power that far outmatches most shinobi. However, this immense strength is tempered by their bestial nature, which restricts them from being intelligent enough to use it effectively. As such, when the tailed beasts are sealed within humans, they are able to benefit from the knowledge of their hosts, giving them the ability to better utilize their powers.

Jinchuuriki – "Power of Human Sacrifice": are humans that have bijuu sealed within them. They exhibit extraordinary powers, and in some cases are more powerful than their tailed beasts, because they have the intelligence to use the beasts' powers effectively.

Henge no Jutsu – Transformation Technique: Given all the missions ninja are assigned to - battle, intelligence gathering, and diversions - this is a priceless Ninjutsu. It is typically used to change into people other than one, but one also has the ability to change into animals, plants, and even inanimate objects like weapons. This gives this technique an abundance of uses. The transformation of a skilled shinobi will be exactly like the genuine article, so it will be impossible to tell the two apart. On the other hand, a transformation performed by an inexperienced person will have obvious discrepancies. It will be impossible to deceive anyone with it. This is one of the most basic Ninjutsu, as such most shinobi know how to perform it. The transformation technique is considered to be among the more difficult E-ranked techniques, since it requires constant emission of chakra while mentally maintaining the form. On top of that, the user would be, most likely, interacting with the environment. This puts mental strain on an inexperienced ninja. Thus the best way to determine if it is indeed a transformation is to cause this strain upon the user; though this is of course not always successful.

Oiroke no Jutsu – Sexy Technique: The Sexy Technique is simply a Henge no Jutsu used to transform the user into a beautiful, nude woman in a very seductive pose with mists of smoke covering her privates, or in a bathing suit.

Haremu no Jutsu – Harem Technique: This technique is considered to be an advanced variation of the Oiroke no Jutsu, which is combined with the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. After creating a dozen or so clones, Naruto uses this technique to transform them all into the same beautiful. Naruto uses this technique when he either wants a better chance of his target falling victim, or when the Sexy Technique fails to fulfill its purpose


	2. Survival training! Pass or fail!

**Disclaimer:** I'm only gonna say this once: I don't own Naruto. All rights and claims belong to the epic dude in Japan – Masashi Kishimoto-sama.

 **Arch-Daishou:** The first 14 Chapters I am leaving as is. Save a few spelling corrects. But after 14, I will continue this fantastic story.

 **NOTE:** ' **READ THIS FIRST, I REPEAT. READ THIS FIRST!** ' when adopting this from Stormy Rebel, he told me this chapter and parts of chapter 2 were parts of other stories for which he spoke to the respected authors of those fics and they **allowed** him to use them. ' **AGAIN, READ THIS BEFORE READING THE CHAPTER! THANK YOU!'**

 **Chapter 2: Survival Training! Pass or Fail!**

Naruto made his way towards the Academy, ignoring the usual stares and glares. It didn't really bother him anymore, he had gotten used to it over the years. The only difference the last week was that he knew why he was getting them. That helped a lot; it was a burden lifted from his shoulders. He didn't have to wonder why.

As he walked down one of the alleys, when he saw someone 'trying' to blend in with the railing behind him, using a sheet as cover. The only problem was that it was hanging ninety degrees wrong. He knew right away who it was.

Before he could call him out, Konohamaru jumped out from his 'cover' yelling at him "Fight me!" sadly, he hadn't even taken one step, before he tripped over the sheet.

Naruto sweat dropped "What are you doing Konohamaru?"

"I expect nothing less from the man I respect" Konohamaru said, getting up.

Naruto was silent for a few seconds "I didn't do anything. You tripped – again."

Konohamaru totally ignored this and got up, making a hand sign "fight me fair and square!"

Naruto shook his head "Sorry Konohamaru. I have to go to my team assignment meeting now."

"Team assignment?" the boy asked confused

"Yeah, I'm a ninja of Konoha starting today!" he said smiling, pointing at his hitai-ate.

Konohamaru stared in awe. He smiled at his big-brother figure "Ok, nii-san. I guess we'll have to do it another day then". And with that, the two boys went on their way.

Naruto made it to the Academy a little earlier than normal. Heck, normally he would have met at least an hour late, since none of the teachers really bothered with him. But that wasn't on his mind today. Today was the first day in the rest of his life, the first step towards becoming the Hokage. Nothing could bring him down. If he was honest with himself, he didn't care much about which team he was assigned _. 'Just not Sasuke-teme; he is waaay to broody for me. And I wouldn't mind getting on the same team as Sakura-Chan… though I could image her having a problem with me. I guess I'll do what Tenten told me to.'_

 **\- Flashback 3 days ago –**

 _Naruto was walking down one of Konoha's many streets with Tenten. Since the day he had come her father's store, they had become friends. Well, Naruto's first real friend at his own age. Shikamaru and Chouji didn't hate his guts, but they weren't close either._

 _"So, have you gotten your team assignment yet?" Tenten asked._

 _Naruto shook his head "nah, we're getting them in three days. If I'm honest I don't really care what team I get on. I'm just happy I graduated"_

 _"Huh, so you don't care at all? There is no one you would or would rather not be with?" she asked doubtingly_

 _Naruto looked at his new friend with a small smile "well, there is this one guy. Sasuke-teme… He just gets on my nerves all the time."_

 _"Wait, Sasuke? As in Uchiha Sasuke? The sole survivor of the Uchiha Clan Massacre?"_

 _"That's the guy" he said while nodding_

 _"Ouch, I can understand that. I mean, I can't set myself into his place, to get his whole clan killed, but he is just so…"_

 _"So brooding"_

 _"Exactly" she smiled. She rather liked Naruto. Not in romantic manner, but he was a good friend. It was a good break from her two teammates and their eccentric sensei. Naruto was a funny guy, maybe a bit straight forward with things, but nothing she couldn't handle._

 _She took a look around and saw the glares of the villagers. It wasn't her they were glaring at; it was her new friend. She had tried to ask him about it, but he had changed subject rather quickly. She knew that he had pranked most of the villagers when he was a kid. She had found them rather funny. And then a few days ago when painted the Hokage Monument. She was impressed. It wasn't anyone who could over paint a monument, which was visible from most of the village, in daylight, wearing an orange jumpsuit. When she had asked how he had done it, he had answered "It's easy when no one wants you to exist." That time it was her who changed subject._

 _She was pulled out of her train of thoughts when Naruto started talking again "And then there is Sakura-chan."_

 _She raised an eyebrow while smiling "So there's a girl? I guess she hung up on the Uchiha then?"_

 _"Yeah! Can you believe it? And every time she asks him on a date, he turns her down, and still she won't go out with me" he answered a bit moping._

 _"So, how many times have you asked her on a date?"_

 _"Erm… Every time I see her? It's usually just after she gets turned down by Sasuke."_

 _"I have an advice if you want" Naruto nodded eagerly "Back off"_

 _"What?" Naruto said disbelievingly_

 _"I said back off. Try to stop asking her on a date every time you see her. Try just to be there for her. You know, maybe in time she will come around" she said while winking at her blonde friend. "Baby steps, learn to be friends first. Then see where it goes from there."_

 _"Maybe… Ok, I'll try it" he said, showing her one of his big bright smiles_

 _"Good" she nodded approvingly._

 **\- Flashback End -**

Naruto opened the door to his classroom, and made his way inside. He hadn't stepped three steps inside, before a boy stepped in front of him.

"Oi, Naruto! Today is the team assignments. You do know that you would actually have to pass the exam if you want in on it, right?" it from the brown haired boy. He wore a pair of dark grayish pants the reached down to his calves, and a grey hooded fur-lined coat with a hood he wore on his head. Under the hood, on his head, was a little white puppy.

"Auf, auf"

"See, even Akamaru agrees" Kiba stated with a smug smiled, petting his puppy.

Naruto smiled right back at Kiba, while tapping his finger on his forehead protector "Are you blind dog-breath? I have a hitai-ate, thus must I have passed. The Hokage himself passed me. Can u say the same for you?"

Kiba narrowed his eyes, and took a closer look at his hitai-ate – just to be sure it was real. When he was convinced, he just came with an "hmph" and turned around to go back to his seat.

The blonde Genin shook his head with a smile of Kiba's antics. When he was done, he took a look around the classroom for an empty seat. As far as he could see there were three; one beside Sasuke-teme, and another beside that seat, and one in front of Chouji. The last option wasn't really an option in his opinion. It was a known fact that all the Akamichi's were real greedy-guts and the new clan-heir wasn't an exception. That alone wasn't the problem; the real problem was that not all of his food made the trip from the back it was in, to his mouth. So anyone who says in front of Chouji would be showered in food scraps.

Naruto took a deep breath, and made his way over to the table where Sasuke sat, and took the seat furthest away from the Uchiha. Naruto reached for his pocket, and took up a book on fūinjutsu and started reading it, much to the whole classrooms disbelief. Even the Uchiha was brought out of his brooding mood, and raised an eyebrow at the blonde shinobi.

Hinata was looking from behind the classroom, where she had taken a seat _. 'Naruto-kun was able to graduate! Maybe, just maybe, I can get on the same team as him'_ She thought hopefully.

Before long Naruto was brought out of his reading, when the whole classroom went quiet. They could all hear something rumbling, like some big animals, like rhino's or elephants, which were running. It was getting closer and closer. You would think that the class would become nervous at the apparent impending doom, but this was a daily routine for them. Before long, two girls almost fell in through the door.

"First/I win" they yelled, before turning to each other to glare.

The first one Naruto recognized right away: it was Sakura-chan. She had bright pink hair, a color Naruto didn't know could appear naturally before he had met her, and green eyes. She also had a rather large forehead, and Naruto knew she had been bullied because of it. To him, though, it was just her, and he loved every part of it. She was wearing a red dress with a white circular design on her shoulders and her back, and she wore dark green shorts. She wore her hitai-ate like a hair band.

The second girl was Ino, who had an ongoing rivalry with Sakura. She wore a short purple vest like blouse with a raised collar, a skirt that was cut off on the sides and bandage on her stomach and legs. She also wore purple and white elbow warmers with this, and her hitai-ate around her waist as a belt.

"I win again Sakura" Ino said

"What are you talking about? My pinkie-toe entered the classroom before yours by a whole centimeter!" Sakura replied, glaring harder.

Ino returned the glare "Are you blind?" The two girls kept bickering like that, and the rest of the class went back to doing what they were doing before. That is, everyone but Naruto. He was looking at Sakura with a blush. He quickly looked away again _'Naruto, remember what Tenten said. Give her some space. But there she is! Looking over here! And now she's coming this way. Maybe she wants to sit beside me'_ he thought, as the pink haired kunoichi made her way over to the table where Naruto and Sasuke were sitting.

He smiled at her "Good morning Sakura-Chan!"

"Get out of my way! I want to sit there beside Sasuke-kun" she replied, pointing at the seat in between him and Sasuke.

He sighed while getting out of his seat "Fine, get in then"

Sakura hadn't expected that. Normally Naruto would get going how un-cool Sasuke was, and she would have to hit him. "Erm, thank you Naruto" she said, taking her seat. She was just about to talk to Sasuke, when Iruka came in through the door.

"Ok class, settle down" most of them didn't hear him, causing a tick mark to appear on Iruka. He used his big-scary-head jutsu "I SAID SETTLE DOWN!" that got the desired effect. He cleared his throat "Starting today, you are all official ninjas, but you are all still just new Genin. It's going to get harder from here. You all will be in a group of three, where you will accomplish missions under a Jounin Instructor." That got the class' attention. Most of them hadn't expected a three-man team. Naruto wasn't surprised, the Hokage had given him permission to train the last week because he was gonna be on a team. Iruka continued "We've arranged the groups such that overall abilities are equivalent. I will now announce them. Team 1 is…"

Naruto started reading his book again, just paying enough attention to react when his own name was called. "Team 7 will be: Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura" internally Naruto was jumping up and down in happiness. Sakura quite the opposite "And Uchiha Sasuke" that got the reversed effect. Naruto couldn't help but throw a quick glare at _Sasuke 'The gods must really be against me. There are twenty-seven people that have graduated, and I get on the same team as Sasuke-teme?'_ He _sighed 'well at least I'm also on the same team as Sakura-Chan'._ "Next Team 8: Hyuuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba and Aburame Shino. There won't be a Team 9, as last year's Team 9 is still in effect. Team 10 will be Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru and Akamichi Chouji" he called up the last few teams. "That's it for the Teams. Now, your Jounin Sensei will be here after lunch, you can do what you want until then"

With that said, the different Teams went out the classroom.

 **\- In the council chambers -**

It was the day of the assignments of the new Genin teams, and thus there was a council meeting. Currently all were present but the Hokage.

The council chambers consisted of the Hokage's seat at the end of multiple tables. Beside the Hokage's seat were two smaller tables where the elders sat. Their names were Homura Mitokado, Koharu Utatane and Shimura Danzo. Homura and Koharu were old teammates of Hiruzen, and had retired from their shinobi carriers and settled back as elders and councilors for the Sandaime. Danzo was an old rival of Hiruzen. While he had Konoha's best at heart, he didn't always care of the way to get there.

From the Hokage's seat point of view, the left side was reserved for the business people of Konoha, the six that had been elected from their respective areas. These people didn't have Konoha's best at heart. What they cared about was getting more power, and getting more wealth.

The right side was reserved for the eight major clans of Konoha: Senju, Uchiha, Hyuuga, Inuzuka, Aburame, Akamichi, Nara and Yamanaka. Though, because of the Uchiha massacre, the Uchiha seat was empty until the time of the last Uchiha to be sixteen years of age, and the Senju seat was empty because the last known survivor of said clan, Senju Tsunade, wasn't in Konoha, and hadn't been for years. These people were the only one beside the Hokage who were not thinking of ways to get more power, but had Konoha's best at heart.

In the seat closest to the Hokage's was none other than Hiashi Hyuuga, the head of the Hyuuga clan which was currently the largest clan in Konoha. Hiashi was a man who despite his cold demeanor, always put his clan and Konoha first, even when it went against his own beliefs

The next seat from Hiashi was Tsume, the clan head of the Inuzuka Clan. This clan was well known for their collaboration with ninja dogs, their pack mentality and their hotheadedness. They always believed in looking out for family, and were well known for their fierce loyalty to others.

Sitting next to the Inuzuka Matriarch was Shibi Aburame, the clan head of the Aburame clan. The Aburame's were well known as a clan that followed logic, believing that to do otherwise would cause more issues to arise then need be. They were also ostracized because of the bugs they carry.

The last in the lineup were the members of the Yamanaka, Nara and Akamichi clans, who were well known for their powerful team work. These three were Inoichi, Shikaku and Chouza and they had been known as the Ina-Shika-Cho trio, due to the teamwork they used during the Third Great Shinobi War.

Finally the Sandaime entered the chambers, and took his seat. "As it seems we're all here, we will get started. Now first point of order is-"

"Sorry Sandaime-sama, but I have disturbing news that I think the council should hear" Danzo interrupted the Hokage. Hiruzen didn't seem affected by this, as he had known this would come sooner or later. He was pretty sure it was because of Naruto and his Shoton. He knew he wouldn't be able to keep it a secret long after he allowed Naruto's ninja registration photo to be taken. That, and that he had allowed the blonde to use one of the training ground by himself. He was sure that Danzo would have picked up on that.

"What is it Danzo-san?" Hiruzen asked more politely than he would have out of the council chambers.

"It has come to my attention that you have reserved a whole training field for a newly graduated Genin. It intrigued me, but I let it go: I'm not one to question the Hokage" Hiruzen mentally scoffed at that. Danzo questioned every action he took. He had tried to get his hand on the seat for a long time. Other than that, he had tried to get his hands on Naruto more than one time, willing to turn him into a weapon of Konoha, due to his jinchuuriki status. He was sure that he would try even harder now that he had found out about the blondes new kekkei genkai. Hiruzen was, of course, greatly opposing of this. Minato had asked him to make sure Naruto would be safe. He couldn't do much about the villagers, but this he could. He wouldn't let Naruto fall into the grasps of the old war hawk.

Never mind what Kushina would have done to the crippled elder if had gotten hold of Naruto. Hiruzen wasn't entirely sure if he'd applaud or be terrified of that outcome.

Danzo looked over the chamber. He could see that he had peeked their interest. "But then a few days ago, when the elders and I went over the new ninja registration forms, we came across this" he said, taking out Naruto's photo, sending it around the council. He could see many confused looks. "We, like you, had no idea what this was. So I send some of my guards to look for the jinchuuriki. They found him at earlier mentioned training ground. He was training to use… Shoton. Yes, the kyuubi jinchuuriki has Shoton."

 **\- An hour later –**

"Enough of this! Yes, Naruto has Shoton, but it isn't dangerous! Jiraiya and I have observed and made sure of that. The reason I allowed Naruto to use that training ground was so he could get it under control, and so he wouldn't put his team at risk" Hiruzen said loudly and irritated. The last hour had been nothing but accusations, and pleads about putting the boy down, letting Danzo have him. "If any other shinobi or citizen of Konoha had awakened Shoton, you would all be delighted. But because it's Naruto, you're acting like this? I won't have it" he continued, while glaring around the council. The shinobi side had been concerned, but had calmed a bit down. It was the civilians and the elders that caused problem. They hated the boy's guts, because of the kyuubi. "Now I have given you all the answers I'm willing, so we're gonna get on with this council meeting. Now, for the first point of order…"

 **\- Lunch at the Academy -**

Sakura was sitting on a bench outside the Academy. They still had some time before their Jounin Sensei would pick them up. She had just had a not so friendly conversation with Sasuke. He had told her that he thought she was annoying. '"You're annoying" _'huh? I see… Naruto must've felt the same way. Maybe I can be nicer starting now. I could give him a chance. I never really have gotten to know him; I always brush him off as a pest…'_

He did seem different from before.

She was brought out of her thoughts when she saw Naruto coming her way eating a dango. It didn't seem like he had seen her yet _. 'Alright, this is my chance to be nicer to him. Remember to smile, not scowl, smile'._ With that, she had a really strained smile on her face "Hey Naruto, let's go back to the classroom."

Naruto looked up at her "Sakura-Chan? I thought you would be with Sasuke" he said the last part a bit sad. Sakura didn't miss that.

"Yeah, but he had to go do something else. Come on, let's go back to class" she said. This brought a big smile to Naruto's face _'you're a genius Tenten!'_

 **\- Three hours later in the classroom –**

"Why is our sensei the only one who's late!? All the other teams have been picked up hours ago!" Sakura said annoyed. Team 7 was still sitting in the classroom. Or Sasuke and Naruto were sitting at their respected desks, and Sakura was going back and forth, getting inpatient with their new sensei.

Naruto sighed and looked up from his book "Sakura-Chan, it can't be helped. He'll get here when he get here." While he agreed with her, he was getting rather annoyed with Sakura. She had been like that for the last hour, coming with outbursts every ten minutes or so.

Granted a part of him was ' _really_ ' tempted to pull a prank on this guy. But making a first impression, that wouldn't help much.

Sakura turned to look at Naruto in disbelief, before gathering herself _. 'Ok, if Naruto asks me to calm down, I really must be tiring. I mean, he is the most hyper person I know! But that means… that means Sasuke-kun also thinks that I'm getting annoying – again.'_ She took a deep breath to calm herself down, before taking the seat beside Sasuke. Naruto eyed her, before going back to reading his book.

Fifteen minutes later a silver haired Jounin entered the room. Sakura couldn't help herself, and jumped up screaming "You're late!"

He just starred at them passively "How should I say this… My first impression of you guys is… I hate you"

Sakura got a moping expression, while Naruto and Sasuke got a better look at their sensei. He was wearing the standard Konoha Shinobi outfit, along with iron plated gloves. His face was mostly covered by his mask, and his left eye was covered by his hitai-ate. All in all, they couldn't get a real good look at him.

"Meet me on the roof in five minutes" he said before shunshining away.

 **\- Five minutes later on the roof –**

Kakashi was looking over each of his students. He was mostly looking on Naruto Gods, _'he looks so much like you sensei'_ then he turned his gaze to the _Uchiha 'I really hope I can help him, before chooses a path that he can't be saved from'._ When the five minutes were up, he spoke "Let's see, why you don't introduce yourselves."

"Introduce ourselves? What should we say?" Sakura asked

Kakashi shrugged "What you like, hate, your dreams, and hobbies. Something like that"

"Why don't you introduce yourself first, sensei? So we know what to say" Naruto suggested

"Me? I'm Hatake Kakashi. I have no intention of telling you my likes and dislikes. As for my dream… I have few hobbies."

The three Genin were left with sweat drops on the back of their heads. Sakura turned to her new teammates "So all we found out was his name" Naruto squints while Sasuke's eye twitched.

"Now it's your turn. Blondie, you go first"

Naruto shot a quick glare for his new nickname "I'm Uzumaki Naruto. I like ramen, Ichiraku Ramen, my friend Tenten, Iruka-Sensei, and Hokage-ojisan. I dislikes are the three minutes you have to wait for your ramen to finish after you have poured water over it, people who will hurt my friends, and can't seem to tell the difference between a kunai and the scroll its sealed inside" this caused Kakashi to raise an eyebrow. He, of course, knew what Naruto was talking about. Sasuke and Sakura looked confused at Naruto. Naruto just continued, acting like he hadn't noticed "My hobbies are training, hanging out with Tenten, and tasting new kinds of ramen. And my dream for the future, I want to become the greatest Hokage and make everyone in the village acknowledge me. I also want to find out who my parents were" he finished, getting a nod from Kakashi.

"Hai, next you pinkie"

"I'm Haruno Sakura! I like… well, the person I like is…" Sakura glances at Sasuke "And my hobbies are… well, my dream is to…" glances at Sasuke again, and giggles like crazy.

"And? What do you dislike?" Kakashi asked

"Naru- I mean… I dislike Ino-pig!" Sakura finished looking over at Naruto _'I promised that I would try to give him a chance. And I start today'._ Naruto looked genuinely surprised. He was half convinced that she would had said his name, and knew she almost did

 _'What happened to her?'_

Kakashi looked at Sakura 'Girls her age must be more interested in love than ninja training. Well at least she's trying to be nice.' "Now you, last guy"

Sasuke didn't look up when talked "My name is Uchiha Sasuke. There are many things that I hate, and there aren't a lot of things that I like. Also, I have an ambition that I have no intention to leave as just a dream. The revival of my clan, and to… kill a certain man."

Naruto looked at Sasuke _'I guess it's the man who killed his clan…'_ Sakura was still hyped after her own introduction 'Sasuke IS cool'

Kakashi on the other hand had a brief look of seriousness in his eyes 'just as I thought'. He quickly got back to his old careless look "Alright, you three all have unique personalities. I like that. We're going to begin a mission starting tomorrow. First we're gonna do something we four can do together. Survival training"

"Survival training? Kakashi-sensei, we have just been through years of training in the Academy, can't we just go ahead and start missions?" Naruto asked rather annoyed.

"This is no ordinary training" Kakashi replied

Now Sakura was looking annoyed to _'Can't he just get to the point?'_ "Then what kind of training is it?"

Kakashi started laughing, freaking the three Genin out a bit. Sakura looked more annoyed than ever "What is so funny, sensei?"

"Well, if I say this, I'm sure you three are going to be shocked. Out of the twenty-seven graduates, only nine are going to become Genin. The other eighteen will be sent back to the Academy. In other words, this training is going to be a very hard test with a dropout rate of sixty-six percent." And as Kakashi had predicted, the three Genin were very shocked. "See? You three are shocked!" he said pointing at them.

"Are you kidding me? What was the final exam for?" Naruto asked in complete disbelief

"That? It just picks out those who are qualified to become Genin. Did you really think that three jutsu were gonna get you graduated? Out there is a world whose only goal is to get you killed. We're not going to send anyone out there, who isn't prepared." He paused to let it sink in "Anyway, I'm going to determine whether you pass or fail tomorrow at Training Ground 7. Bring your ninja equipment and meet at 5 A.M!" Kakashi could see how shocked the three Genin were. Even Sasuke, who had until now composed himself, trembled some. "Now then, meeting over. Oh yeah, don't eat breakfast. You're going to throw it up, if you do."

 **\- 5 A.M. at Training Ground 7 –**

The three Genin of Team 7 came from each their own direction, every one of them half asleep.

"Good Morning" Sakura said tiredly.

"Hey…" it came from Naruto.

And the three of them waited… and waited… and waited…

 **\- Three hours later –**

Finally, Kakashi came going from the tree-line "Hi fellows. Good morning"

"You're late!" both Naruto and Sakura yelled at him, while pointing accusingly at him. Now normally the new and improved Naruto wouldn't do that, but the lack of sleep, and his empty stomach made him momentarily pick up some of his old habits.

"Yeah, you see a black cat crossed my path, so…" Kakashi replied, but trailed off when he saw the faces of Team 7. He cleared his throat "Let's move on". He went over to a clock on a stub a few meters from the Genin 'Alarm set at 12 PM' he then turned towards them, and took out two bells to show "Today's topic is to get one of these bells from me. Whoever can't, will have no lunch."

"What!?" it came from Naruto, but was ignored by Kakashi

"I'm going to tie you there, and eat lunch in front of you" he said, pointing at the three stubs, one of them having the alarm clock on it.

At that moment the Genin understood why he had told them not to eat breakfast. It took a few seconds for them to get over that.

"But wait, why are there only two bells?" Sakura asked

Kakashi showed one of his eye-smiles "I'm glad you asked Sakura. Since there's only two, at least on will have to be tied to the log. That person will fail, since he failed to complete the mission. The person will go back to the academy. It might just be one, or it can be all three. You can use tour shuriken. You won't be able to get these, unless you come at me with the will to kill me." He looked at his team. There were no objections. Kakashi continued "We're going to start after I say… Ready? Start!"

The Genin quickly jumped away, hiding in the surrounding area. Kakashi calmly took out a book, and, apparently, started reading _'The most important thing for a shinobi is to hide and conceal yourself. It seems like they got that part down.'_

Naruto was hidden in a tree along the river going through the training ground. He was looking at Kakashi, thinking how to do this _'This is a Jounin, the highest rank of ninja, only surpassed by the kages. I can't run head first in there, without having a plan. Just to get a few things down; there is no way that I can take him down. He can't be expecting us to either, which means… he is testing out skills. But, he should already know them from our records from the Academy, well beside me… He must be testing our teamwork! Damn it! There is no way Sasuke-teme will team up with me; he thinks I'm a dobe with no talents. And while Sakura has been nicer to me since yesterday, I don't think she'll go against "her Sasuke-kun". So the only way we can work together is if I prove myself. And I prove myself by fighting against a Jounin… whom I have no chance of beating.'_ Naruto sighed at the dilemma he was _in 'I guess there's no choice then. The only plus side I can see, is that I can get some info on Kakashi…'_ though he won't even be required to try _._ Naruto quickly formulated a plan. He made a few kage bunshin, and had them hide throughout the area.

Naruto jumped out from his hiding spot, and made his way to the field where Kakashi were standing. He took his stance a couple of meters in front of Kakashi. Kakashi looked from his book, acting like he had only just seen Naruto. He looked back in his book "You do know that it's basics for a shinobi to attack from the shadows, right?"

Naruto still in his stance, didn't take his eyes of Kakashi, observing everything "Yeah, but I figured there was no way that I, a newly graduated Genin, could beat you, a seasoned Jounin with years of experience. So I came to the conclusion that this test was to test our skills."

Kakashi looked at him again _'He is observing me. Trying to find anything he can use against me. But he-'_ he was cut short when the earth began to quake. His eyes widened when he saw razor-sharp crystals shooting out of the ground, trying to impale him. He quickly jumped back to avoid it.

" _Shoton: Kessho no Hari_ " it came from Naruto. Kakashi took his eyes of the pink crystals, and looked at Naruto. For the first time since he had met Team 7, he was truly shocked. Was it not for years of experience in the field and in the war, he would have shown emotions

 _'Shoton… I haven't heard of that in a while. I think there was something up in Ta no Kuni, but to think it would appear here in Konoha… And it to appear in the jinchuuriki of the kyuubi.'_

The two other members of Team 7 weren't handling themselves as well as Kakashi was. Sakura face was full of shock _'Shoton? Is that even a kekkei genkai? And how can Naruto have it?'_ she thought _._ _ **'How the hell should I know!?**_ _ **Just don't get hit by it, CHA!'**_ it came from her inner self, which she completely agreed with.

Sasuke had his eyes narrowed _'how can the dobe have a kekkei genkai? He is a clan-less loser with no family!'_

Kakashi looked at Naruto over his book "Well, since you want to show your skills, why don't you?"

"Alright" Naruto said before charging. He aimed a punch in the guy, but it was easily parried by Kakashi. Kakashi frowned; the punch had been a lot harder than he would've thought it to be. It didn't stop Naruto, he aimed a kick at the ribs, but it was again parried. He then aimed a kick in the chest. Knowing that Kakashi would parry, he focused his chakra there. Kakashi parried, but was pushed back a few centimeters, much to Kakashi's surprise. Naruto used this to jump back through the air. Kakashi used this to his advantage, and threw a kunai. Naruto saw this, and quickly conjured up a hexagonal shuriken in his hand, and threw it to intercept the kunai. They clashed together and were pushed out of the way.

Naruto landed with a smirk "That was my _Kessho: Rokkaku Shuriken_ ".

Kakashi still had his book up, but he had to focus a lot more than he had thought _'So, he is able to crystallize the air around him. It may seem like he doesn't have a weapon, but everything around him is. Also, it doesn't seem like he needs to use hand signs… But how was he able to kick so hard so suddenly?'_ Kakashi took a closer look at Naruto, and saw light reflect off him, which cause Kakashi to raise his visible eyebrow.

Naruto nodded at Kakashi "It's just what you think, Kakashi-sensei. I call it _Kessho no Yoroi_ "

Kakashi didn't react _'To think he ranked dead-last.'_ Kakashi was, to say the least, impressed.

"Sensei, you're not going to retaliate?" Naruto asked in a ready pose.

Kakashi looked at Naruto. He knew that he wanted him to attack him, and that he had something up his sleeve. Kakashi shrugged before going through some hand signs " _Suiton: Mizurappa!_ " Kakashi took a deep breath, before beginning to spew out water towards Naruto. He made sure it wasn't as powerful, as he would make it towards an enemy. He had to remember, this was just a test. What Naruto did next completely shocked Kakashi. Naruto raised his arm, just like to intercept, and when the water was a meter from him, it started crystallizing and split so it didn't hit him. Kakashi quickly realized that this jutsu weren't going to work; it was just supplying Naruto with more material to crystallize.

" _Shoton: Kessho Hachidori_ " Naruto cried with the ram sign up. From the crystals that Naruto had just made, thousands of small hummingbirds were created. They appeared around Naruto, until there were no crystals left on the ground. With an unsaid command, they attacked. They closed in quickly, aiming all over Kakashi. Kakashi jumped into the air just in time to avoid them. When they hit the ground, they created a big cloud of debris.

 _'That was a close one'_ Kakashi thought, thinking he was out of harm's way.

" _Shoton: Rokkaku Shuriken: Ranbu!_ " it came from several places around the clearing. From five places barrages of crystal shuriken was shot at him.

 _'Shit'_ he thought, before quickly performing Kawarimi no jutsu. Naruto's shadow clones jumped out of hiding, before dispelling. Naruto nodded to himself in satisfaction, before jumping away. Now he just had to find the others.

Naruto was jumping through the canopies when he heard Sakura scream. He quietly made his way there, making sure he wasn't detected by Kakashi. He finally found Sakura; she was lying motionless on the forest floor. He wasn't worried if she had been hurt; he knew Kakashi wouldn't take it that far.

He made his way down to where she was, and after a brief examination it was clear she was under a genjutsu. He put to fingers on her forehead, while the other was in a ram sign "Kai!" Slowly her eyes fluttered up. As soon as she could see where she was, she quickly got to her feet "Sasuke-kun!"

"Relax Sakura-chan. You were under a Genjutsu" Naruto said, trying to get his teammate to calm down. But she was still going on about she had seen Sasuke dying. "Sakura!" that got her attention "Stop fussing like that! Sasuke is fine. You were under a Genjutsu. Besides, this is just a test, so there is no way that Kakashi-sensei would hurt any of us badly let alone kill us."

That seemed to sink in, but she quickly shook her head "But I need to find him fast. We don't have much time until the test ends!" she said, starting to run out of the clearing. Naruto quickly grabbed her arm "What is it Naruto-baka!"

Naruto sighed at her affectionate nickname for him "I agree, but we can't just take him on one on one. We need to work together – all three of us."

Sakura stopped trying to struggle his way out of his grip, and he let her go. Then she turned to face him fully "but… one of us will fail."

"Maybe… but it's better than all three of us failing." None of them said anything for a few seconds "Listen, I'll give the bells to you two, you like Sasuke, right?" it was an obvious question he already knew the answer on, but she blushed deeply and nodded. "Good, then you two can be on a team together. I'll just… take another year at the Academy. I already failed three times, what is one more time to that, right?"

Sakura was looking at Naruto in disbelief _'was he always this nice? I kind of feel bad at how I treated him…'_

The rosette nodded "okay, let's go find Sasuke-kun"

"No" Sasuke said.

Naruto starred at the black haired Genin in front of him with outrage "Why? You both will pass! We need to work together to get those bells!"

Sasuke scoffed "I don't need help from a clan-less loser like you to do that"

"It didn't seem like that, when we found you buried to your neck before" Naruto replied with a bit of venom earning a glare.

They kept bickering like that, with Sakura just sitting between them. Now normally she would jump to the defense of "her Sasuke-kun", but she could see the wisdom in Naruto's words, and she had seen what he could do with Shoton. Also, this meant that she would work together with Sasuke, and that she would be on the same team as Sasuke. But she knew they didn't have long time to do it.

"Sasuke-kun, we don't have very long time again before the test ends. Wouldn't it be better just to do it together and get it over with" she asked carefully, not wanting to get on the wrong side of Sasuke.

Sasuke actually seemed to think about it. He looked up in the sky to see the suns position. He scoffed "fine". Naruto nodded at Sakura, who was overjoyed now.

 **\- Two minutes to twelve –**

Kakashi was standing the middle of the clearing again. He looked over at the clock and sighed _'I guess it's just another team that doesn't pass. I actually hoped they would. Sensei's son, a Shoton user, and jinchuuriki of the kyuubi, the last loyal Uchiha, a true genius, and the girl weren't bad either. She just needs to get over her fan girl stadium. Oh well, maybe next time'_

It was then that three Naruto's ran out of the tree-line. He watched them coming, but didn't do anything visible to counter them.

They all brought their arms to what looked like a guard " _Shoton: Suisho To!_ " On their forearms deep blue-colored crystal tanto's formed. They charged forward as one, slashing like crazy at Kakashi. He could see that Naruto hadn't had this style practiced as much as the academy-style Taijutsu. He kept parrying and dodging. At last, he decided that it was time to get rid of the clones. He kicked hard in one of the Naruto's stomach and it dispelled. He was just about to do the same to the second, when he heard a voice shout behind him.

" _Katon: Gokakyu no jutsu!_ " Sasuke yelled, spewing out a large fireball towards Kakashi.

Kakashi saw this coming, and jumped out of the way. He was a little worried that it had hit Naruto, but it didn't last, as he saw them dispel _'they were clones all along, huh?'_ he didn't have time to think, as he saw a barrage kunai being cast out of one of the trees. With closer inspection, he saw that it was Sakura. He brought up his kunai and began blocking them. He had just landed, when Naruto bolted out of the tree-line again. He was getting closer and closer to Kakashi, and was just about there when the alarm ringed. All three Genin looked in disbelief and despair at the clock.

"No, damn it! Damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it!" Naruto said, mentally kicking himself for not being a bit faster.

 **\- A few minutes later –**

Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto were tied to the logs, and as Kakashi had said he would, was eating his lunch in front of them. Naruto's stomach was the loudest, but Sasuke's and Sakura's wasn't silent.

"Well then, none of you got the bells" Kakashi said. All of them were waiting for the dooming words. "You pass" Kakashi said. They stared disbelieving at him.

"But, you said that we would fail and be sent back to the academy if we didn't get the bells!" Naruto exclaimed.

Kakashi nodded "I lied" he stated flatly.

"But sensei, what was the test for then?" Sakura asked.

"You three are the first I have passed. People I had previously were blockheads, who just thought about themselves, and didn't want to risk getting kicked back to the academy. They didn't want to work together because they knew one of them had to fail. But that is not how being a shinobi works – especially a Konoha shinobi. We work together, train together and basically live together." He looked up in the sky "'in the world of shinobi, those who break the rules are called scrum. But those who don't take care of their friends are even worse than scum'. You guys worked together to have a chance, even though you knew one of you would fail the test. So to answer your question Sakura – it was to test your worth as a team."

Naruto looked at Kakashi, as he moved around the logs to tie up the robes 'you know he isn't that bad. He is actually kind of cool'. When he had tied them up, he turned to them "The training ends here. Everyone passes! Team 7 will start doing missions starting tomorrow!"

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

Fūinjutsu - Literally meaning "Sealing Techniques": are a type of jutsu that seal objects, living beings, chakra, along with a wide variety of other things within another object.

Shoton: Kessho no Hari – Crystal Release: Crystal Needles: The user creates long, sharp, and pointed bright pink and white crystals that shoot at the target at extremely high speeds with pinpoint accuracy.

Kessho: Rokkaku Shuriken – Crystal Release: Hexagonal Shuriken: The user creates crystal shuriken and launches them at the opponent. The shuriken are six-sided with spikes at the sides of each blade, resembling snowflakes.

Kessho no Yoroi – Crystal Armor: This technique allows the user to cover his skin with a thin sheet of crystal, protecting himself from physical attacks. This armor can also aid the user to perform stronger physical attacks. The user can control the thickness of the crystal, by focusing chakra in certain areas, to either give even higher defense, or harder punches or kicks. The crystal is transparent and can only be noticed by light reflecting off it.

Suiton: Mizurappa – Water Release: Wild Water Wave: Water gushes out from the mouth like a waterfall and washes away the enemy. One can freely control the power of this technique with the amount chakra one releases. Having many variations, this is a basic Water Release technique.

Shoton: Kessho Hachidori – Crystal Release: Crystal Hummingbirds: Many humming birds are formed from crystal, the birds then home on the target dodging simple jutsu that attempt to stop them.

Shoton: Rokkaku Shuriken: Ranbu – Crystal Release: Hexagonal Shuriken: Wild Dance: The user creates and throws a vast amount of crystal shuriken at her opponent

Kawarimi no jutsu – Body Replacement Technique: With this technique, one replaces their own body with a block of wood or some other object, the moment an attack lands. This creates an optical illusion, making the enemy think the attack was successful. From this, the user can use the lapse in the enemy's attention to attack or flee from the battlefield. Explosive tags can be attached to the replacement for an added surprise. It's a basic Ninjutsu even taught at the Academy, but it's a useful art that can be applied in variety of situations.

Shoton: Suisho To – Crystal Release: Jade Crystal Blade: With this technique the user can quickly form a blade made of crystal on her arm, and use it in a manner reminiscent of a tanto. Blades can be formed on both arms if needed.

Katon: Gokakyu no jutsu – Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique: A technique where chakra kneaded inside the body is converted into fire, and expelled from the mouth in a massive orb of roaring flame or as a continuous flame-thrower. The scope of the attack is altered by controlling the volume of chakra that is mustered. The released flames will engulf their target, and leave a crater on the ground's surface. This technique apparently requires more than average chakra reserves and most Genin should not be able to do this technique. The Uchiha clan also uses this technique as a "coming of age" rite and as such was a common and one of the more favored techniques amongst them.


	3. The hellcat and ramen stand

**Disclaimer** : I do not own Naruto

 **Chapter 3: The hellcat and the Ramen-stand**

Team 7 were jumping through the forests of Konoha, pursuing their target. It was faster than any of them thought it could be. They had used hours tracking it down, and now, for at least forty-five minutes, chasing it. But they were gaining in on it. They were so close now.

Their target had stopped. Team 7 quickly made their way to different hiding spots around their target.

" _This is Sasuke, arrived at point B_ " it crackled through the radio

" _Sakura here, I have reached point C_ "

" _Naruto here, reached point A_ "

Kakashi was listening in, supervising them. Normally he would have scolded (as much as Kakashi now can scold people) that for taking so long, but this was no ordinary target. As soon as he heard they had reached their positions he tapped his radio "If you're all in position… Execute capture target T!"

Team 7 didn't need to hear any more than that; they jumped from their hiding spots, going after the target. It was fast, and dodged first Sakura's attempt, then Sasuke's. Naruto seeing his opportunity, jumped into a tree, and came at it from above. It was a success; he grabbed the fur ball shaped target. It was, to say the least, not happy. It turned around and began attacking Naruto. The cat Tora was captured.

The crackling sound of Kakashi's voice over the radio sounded "Does it have a red ribbon on its right ear? Is it our target, Tora the cat?"

The Uchiha looked lazily over at Naruto, who was getting beaten up by the small brown feline from hell, and Sakura who was giggling at her teammate's expense. Sasuke tapped his radio "Affirmative, Tora the cat is captured… again."

All the Genin of Team 7 was starting to hate Tora. Since they had graduated six weeks ago, they had had "capture Tora the cat" mission sixteen times – seventeen with this. For some reason the Hokage loved to give their team the most hellish missions. They were had all agreed it was because of Kakashi's tardiness.

\- At the mission delegation office -

"My sweet, dear Tora-Chan, I missed you! I was so worried about you! My, my, you've gotten yourself really dirty, haven't you dear? We will have to take a long, wet shower when we come home" a large lady in red said to the hellish cat, while hugging it to death, much to the satisfaction of Team 7. They were all grinning evilly at the feline abomination from hell.

She turned towards Hiruzen, and bowed "Thank you Hokage-sama. I'm happy you're always willing to help" then she turned towards Team 7 "and thank you for helping"

The Sandaime nodded, while Kakashi smiled "ah, no problem Madam Shijimi. We were happy to help". All the Genin shot glares at Kakashi. Naruto scoffed mentally ' _WE? What the hell do you mean with "we"? You didn't do a damn thing. If we get that mission one more time, I'm gonna kill that hellcat. I would be doing all of Konoha a favor.'_

Sakura also mentally on the same lines _: 'if you removed your eyes from that abomination of a book Sensei, you could have ACTUALLY HELP!'_

Madam Shijimi walked over to the Hokage and handed him the payment "Here you are Hokage-Sama. I must be going now, goodbye"

"Goodbye Madam Shijimi, and give my regards to Fire Daimyo-Dono" The old Hokage said. She nodded at it, and made her way out the door. Hiruzen turned towards Team 7, to see Kakashi getting deadly glares from his team. "Now Team 7, let's see what we have for you now…" he looked through all the mission papers "Ah here we have it. Council member Yojyu needs someone to babysit his child while he is out on business, grocery shopping in a neighboring town and helping pick up potatoes at one of the Akamichi farms"

"Oh, come on Jiji! We have done nothing but D-ranks for almost two months! Can't you give us something just a little bit difficult!?" Naruto exclaimed. Sakura and Sasuke looked annoyed by it, but they had to agree; they too were getting tired of all the easy missions. Kakashi sweat dropped ' _you know it's gonna be me who take all the trash, right? I guess its revenge for me not helping with Tora…'_

Iruka sighed "Naruto, you already know how the ninja rank goes. You're only newly graduated Genin. Until you have trained some more, you can't go on higher ranking missions than D-rank"

"I know that, but I'm not the same brat who used to paint over the Hokage monument! I _can_ handle myself!" Naruto retorted. "Will at least just one C-rank mission kill us Iruka-Sensei," Said scarred Chunin only sighed again at the blonde's words. He has been keeping up on his former student's progress and like Naruto said; he has been improving greatly in the past two months.

The old Hokage looked at one of this year's most promising Genin there is some truth to that. He chuckled lightly while puffing on his pipe "Kakashi, what do you say? Do you think they are ready?"

Kakashi, who in the meantime had taken up his little orange book, looked over his Genin team. They were all looking at him with begging eyes. He took a deep breath "I would say a C-rank would suffice as Naruto mentioned. They have been making slow but steady progress."

Hiruzen nodded "Very well then. If you insist I do have a C-rank for you then. It's an escort- and guard mission to Nami no Kuni."

"Ano, who are we supposed to escort then?" Sakura asked

Instead of answering Sakura's question, Hiruzen called out towards the door "Tazuna-san, can you please enter"

The young teens crinkle their noses from the smell of alcohol as coming in through the door were wobbling a drunk middle-aged man. He had grey hair and a large beard of same color. He wore glasses with a dark pair of eyes behind them. It took him a few seconds to get his balance. When he finally did, he narrowed his eyes when he saw who the ninja team, that was supposed to protect him, was made up of "What the hell is this? You're giving me a couple of brats? I mean, the short one doesn't even seem to be ten! They can't have any skill!" he slurred out.

Naruto narrowed his eyes. He had matured a bit from his old self, but his short height was still a touchy subject. And then he criticized their skill. Naruto smirked, which caused Kakashi to worry. Before any of the people in the room could do anything, a big crystal shot out of the ground, impaling the bottle Tazuna was raising to his mouth, successfully pouring its content all over Tazuna's chest. He blinked a couple of times, very surprised. He wasn't the only one; all the ANBU guards in the room were mentally wide-eyed behind their mask. This was the first time they had seen the Shoton in action. They had of course all heard about it; it was big news when the village got a new kekkei genkai. But they didn't show any of this, thanks to their years in service.

"What was it you were saying oji-san?" Naruto smiled. He didn't get any answer.

Behind him Hiruzen coughed/secretly chuckle in his hand "Naruto, please don't kill our clients. Wouldn't be good for business, you know." Naruto looked over his shoulder, before shrugging. He snapped his fingers, and the crystal shattered in tiny microscopic pieces. Tazuna was breathless by the sight of the crystal shimmer in front of him, but composed himself.

"Erm… I am Tazuna and I'm an expert in bridge building. I will need you to escort me back to Nami no Kuni and protect me while I finish it" the old man from Wave said.

Kakashi turned towards his team "You heard the man. This is a C-rank, so we will probably be away for a few weeks. Go home and pack all that you could need. We meet at the main gate tomorrow morning at 8 A.M." Sakura, Sasuke and Naruto nodded.

"Good then. Team 7, I expect you back in a few weeks then. Dismissed"

-With Naruto-

The blond Uzumaki was walking down the main street alone. As soon as they had been dismissed from the mission delegation office, Sasuke had walked towards the Uchiha District with Sakura on his ass. He sighed _'I still like Sakura-Chan, but the way she acts sometimes… I have to find a way to talk to her about it. Most of the time, on and off missions, she really doesn't act like a proper kunoichi. Maybe I can use Sasuke to make her act less fan girlish.'_

He was making his way to Higarashi Weapon Shop to buy different ninja tools for the upcoming mission. He had thought he had it all at home, but no such luck. He couldn't wait till he was better at fūinjutsu so he could make the exploding tags himself, but it was so damn hard to understand. He was only one fourth of the way through the first beginner book. He had learned to make sealing scrolls, and he was good at it, but the rest… It went slowly. It didn't really help with clones, since it was him that had a hard time understanding it. But he was making progress, slow and steady. He was brought out of his thoughts when he almost bumped into someone on the street. He quickly got out of the strangers way. He wasn't going to give the villagers any excuses to hate him more. Though, since he had graduated, they were concealing it more.

He had made his way to the weapon shop. He was hoping to see Tenten in there; he hadn't seen her in three weeks. She had been given a mission, so she was away, and now he was going on one… If he didn't see her, it would probably be a few weeks more. He stepped inside, and was delighted to hear a familiar voice.

"Welcome to Higari- Hey Naruto!" Tenten said, making her way out from the counter to give him a quick hug. They may only have known each other for a few weeks, but Tenten had become his best friend – if not because she was his first. When she was done she took a good look a good look at him "It's good to see you again. Now, did you come to buy or just to say hey to little old me?" she smiled at him.

Naruto smiled back "Well, kind of both. You see, my team has gotten its first C-rank mission, so I need to restock all my ninja tools, like explosion tags, smoke- and flash bombs, things like that. And then I hoped to run into you before I was going away"

She nodded, and began to take all the different articles from the shelves and put them on the counter. When she got to the kunai and shuriken, Naruto shook his head "I won't need those"

Tenten frowned "I know you told me you like hand to hand combat and Ninjutsu combat more, but you will need weapons"

"That wasn't what I meant" Naruto looked around the store, just to make sure they were alone. While most of the higher-ups ninja knew of his Shoton abilities, there weren't many others that did, and he planned to keep it that way for as long as he could. "I can make them myself" he said, holding his hand up, conjuring a crystal shuriken.

Tenten gasped "How did you do that?" she motioned to take it, but quickly stopped herself and looked at him "Can I take a look at it?" Naruto nodded. She took it from his hand, and looked closer at it. She was, to say the least, impressed. There were such detail, and she couldn't find any weakness in the way it was build, even though it should be fragile. In fact, it was the opposite, it was sturdy.

When she was done, she made motion to return it to Naruto, but he shook his head "You keep it, I can make a thousand others in no time"

She smiled at him, bigger than before. She put it down in her pocket, making sure it was safe. She looked at him again "You still haven't answered my question; how did you do that?"

Naruto's face turned serious "You can't tell this to anyone, ok?" she nodded. She weren't going to betray one of her closest friends. "I have Shoton, a kekkei genkai. I found out just after I graduated, and before you ask, yes, the Hokage knows, and so does all the higher-up shinobi."

Tenten was stunned, but regained herself… somewhat "So, how does it work?"

"Well, I haven't really figured it all out yet, but it seems like I can crystallize anything with a mass, such as earth, water, wood and so on. But I can't crystallize energy, such as lightning, wind and chakra. The only exception is my own chakra. I'm guessing it's because I'm so tuned into it. If I had to guess, I would think that if I spent enough time on, let's say a lightning bolt, I would be able to crystallize it. But because it only lasts for a few seconds at most, I wouldn't be able to do it. And all lightning bolts have a different energy signature, so it wouldn't help to try it out on a thousand different."

Tenten nodded, satisfied with the explanation. She was happy he was willing to share like that to her; she could see it was one of his "big secrets". He still wouldn't tell her why all the villagers seemed to hate him so much, but she guessed it was just a matter of time.

She walked over the cash register and typed all the items in Naruto was planning to buy "Ok, that will be 865 yen."

Naruto took the money out of his wallet, Gama-Chan, and put it on the counter before putting all the items in various pockets in his outfit. Tenten was still amused by his little frog wallet, and the fact that he had named it.

"Tenten, do you want to go grab something to eat? I probably won't be back for a few weeks" Naruto asked.

Tenten looked thoughtful for a second "One second. I just got to ask dad if he can watch the counter". She ran out back for twenty seconds and came back with a smile "It won't be a problem. Now, where do you want to go?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

Naruto smirked at her "Do you really have to ask? Ichiraku Ramen of course."

\- Thirty minutes later at Ichiraku Ramen -

Naruto and Tenten walked into the small stand "Hey Teuchi-ojisan, Ayame-neesan!"

Teuchi and Ayame, who were standing and making noodles, turned around to face where the voice had come from. Ayame were the first to speak "Naruto-kun and Tenten-san. Let me guess? The usual?" she asked with a smile.

Both nodded "You bet neesan."

The old ramen-stand owner chuckled deeply "Coming right up". Both of them turned to continue making the noodles and soup.

While they were waiting for the ramen, Naruto turned towards "By the way, you never told what your mission was about. I got told you were on one from Kaito"

"Yeah, sorry about that. I tried to find you, but obviously couldn't, and we had to go fast. My sensei is rather eccentric, and he makes everything into a competition…" she said, dropping her head at the end. Gai was a good sensei and all, but she could use a holiday from all the craziness.

"No worries. Now, what was your mission about?"

"There had been some bandit raids on some small villagers down by the border to Kawa no Kuni, so the villagers had hired us to track them down and take care of them…" Tenten told Naruto about the mission, how they had gone from village to village to get information, and to how they tracked down and took care of the bandit groups in the area. In the meantime they had gotten their ramen, and Naruto was on his third.

"Sounds like you had your work cut out for you, huh?" Naruto asked, inhaling some more noodles.

Tenten looked at her friend with a smile. She had tried more than once to get Naruto to eat with some manners. She had had some success with dango, but with noodles… According to Naruto, it was the Gods gift to mankind, and he couldn't get enough of it. "Yeah, but I have a good team. I trust them, no matter how weird they can be"

Naruto sighed "I wish I had a team like that"

"Is it still about Sasuke?"

"Yeah. He just doesn't want to work or train together. He says that I would 'drag him down'" he made quotation marks in the air to what Sasuke had said. "I just can't win with that guy. I'm probably one of the people in the village who understand him the most. I never knew my parents. Of course I can't put myself in his place; to have all that love just for it to get taken away…" he trailed off

Tenten could see he didn't like to talk about that, so she tried to get the conversation to move on "Then what about that girl, Sakura was her name?"

"Yeah, Sakura. Well, she is nicer to me than she was at the Academy, but she doesn't really act like a kunoichi. She is all about diets, her hair, what clothes she wear, and if Sasuke likes it. I like her, but I wish I could talk some sense into her."

"Ouch. I had a couple of fan girls on my class too. They haven't really made it far, so it would be good if you could talk to her." He nodded at that. She took another mouthful of ramen "Now I've told you about my mission, why you don't tell me about yours? It was your first C-rank, right?"

Naruto brightened up when she asked. She loved her blond friend's antics. "Yes, it's our first C-rank. We're supposed to escort some old drunk named Tazuna to Nami no Kuni, and then guard him while he finishes some bridge there."

Tenten shook her head at her friend's bluntness at describing people. He hadn't really learned what should be thought and not said. "Well, good luck then. It's a C-rank, so you shouldn't get into something you can't handle. Especially with your little gift" she said, referring to his crystal powers.

Naruto nodded "Thanks"

They were silent for a bit while eating their food. Naruto broke the silence "Do you have any chakra weights at your shop? I read that they can help you with your speed and strength. I was really planning to wait till I could make restriction seals, but it's going slower than I had anticipated. So for now, I will have to go with weights. I tried to look for them while you were gone, but couldn't find any, and I never got to ask Kaito."

Tenten finished what ramen she had in her mouth "You wouldn't be able to find them. There aren't many that buy them, so we will have to order them. I can do it later back at the shop. They should be here when your back from your mission."

"Thanks" Naruto said, taking another inhaling of ramen, now on his fifth bowl.

"So it's here where you were hiding? And with a girl nonetheless! I'm so proud. I hope I didn't interrupt anything" a voice came from behind them. Both of the Genin spun around on their chair to be faced with a big white-haired man.

"Ero-sennin! It's nothing like that. Gods, you're such a pervert!" Naruto said a little high.

"Damn it gaki, how many times have I told you not to call me that? And it's super-pervert thank you." Jiraiya responded, puffing his chest a bit.

Tenten watched as the two kept bickering. She knew she had seen the old man somewhere before. Then it hit her; it was Jiraiya! Tsunade's, her idol, old teammate. "Naruto! You really shouldn't call someone like Jiraiya that! Sorry Jiraiya-sama" she said while bowing.

Naruto scoffed "You wouldn't say that if you knew him. And you heard what he said: he is a super-pervert".

Tenten looked from Naruto to Jiraiya _'Well, he did say that. But someone with that much skill and such a high rank can't be a pervert. Can he?'_

"Now, now Naruto. Don't get into a fight with your girlfriend" Jiraiya said with a smirk, causing both of the Genin to blush.

Naruto was the first to speak "Damn it Ero-sennin! I told you it isn't like that!" he paused for a few seconds. "Now that I think about it, why are you here? I thought you were out of the village?"

Jiraiya smiled at his part-time student "I was, but I'm back to report to sensei, and he told me that you're going on your first C-rank?"

"You bet I am!" was Naruto's answer

"Ok, in that case I got a new exercise for you" the white haired man said, taking off his backpack and looked through it. Now Naruto was excited; as much as a pervert the old sage was, he was a good teacher and always had new thing Naruto could do. He got more and more excited the longer it took Jiraiya to find whatever it was he was looking for.

His excitement plummeted when Jiraiya took up what looked like a water balloon and gave it to Naruto. Naruto looked curious, and a little disappointed, at Jiraiya.

The Gama Sannin sighed while rolling his eyes "It's the first step to a jutsu. And before you ask; no I won't show you before you have at least mastered the second stage. There are three stages."

"Aww, are you sure you won't show me the jutsu?" Jiraiya shook his head. Naruto sighed "Fine, but what am I supposed to do?"

"This" Jiraiya took out another balloon. First nothing happened, but then small lumps began to appear on the surface, before it burst. Naruto and Tenten looked curiously at his hand, where the balloon had been before. "You have to burst it open by using your chakra alone. Just rotate the water inside it." Jiraiya took out a scroll "Here I have sealed a lot of balloons inside it. It won't be easy, but if you manage to finish it before I get back, I'll give the second stage to Kakashi. For the third stage, you will have to wait for me".

Naruto took the scroll and put it down his pocket "Thank you Ero-sennin". Jiraiya nodded at him, before waving and walked away. Naruto turned back to his ramen, just to see Tenten look accusingly at him "What?"

"What? You're learning from Jiraiya-sama, one of the Densetsu no Sannin and you don't tell me?"

"I didn't think it was that important. Besides, he doesn't really train me. Kakashi-sensei is my sensei, though he doesn't train me much either…"

Tenten sighed "Just promise me, if you ever get to meet Tsunade-sama, and you get the chance, please introduce me to her"

"Will do" Naruto said smiling. He knew that Tsunade was Tenten's idol, and that she held her in very high regard. He finished his bowl "Oh well, I'm full now. How about you?"

Tenten looked at him with an amused look "I have been done for twenty minutes"

Naruto chuckled at that "Well, thank you for staying then"

"No problem. What are friends for, right?"

"Right". And with that they paid for their meal, said their goodbyes, and walked each their way home.

\- Next morning at Konoha main gate, 11 A.M. -

"Gah, where are your sensei? He should've been here three hours ago!" Tazuna said rather irritated "I knew you weren't worth anything". Sakura and Sasuke shot him a glare. Naruto just kept reading his book. He may have lost it a bit when he first met the old drunk, but he weren't gonna let that happen again. He was aiming to be a top notch shinobi of Konoha.

Naruto looked up from his book "Well, it's almost eleven now, so he should be here any minute. He is always at least three hours late."

And as if called upon, a puff of smoke appeared in the middle of the road, with Kakashi in the middle of it.

"YOU'RE LATE!" Sakura screeched, making everyone else wince at the volume of her voice.

"Sorry, sorry. You see, a cat crossed my path, so I had to take another way, and then I saw an old lady trying to get across the street, and I just had to stop to help her over". All the persons present just gave him a look that said 'You don't really think you're fooling anyone, do you?' "Anyway, it seems like we're all here, so let's get going. Remember all the stuff you have packed."

Sasuke scoffed, but picked up his backpack. He took a look at Naruto. He couldn't see any backpack "dobe, aren't you forgetting something?"

Naruto was putting his book down in his pocket "No, what should that be?"

It was Sakura who answered "What about the things you should have packed?"

Naruto shrugged and held up two scrolls "It's in here. Way easier than carrying around a heavy backpack."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. He had seen that Naruto was reading fūinjutsu books, but he didn't think he was this far in it. He stopped Sakura and Sasuke from digging more into it "Ok, it seems you all have your stuff, so let's get going." With that Tazuna and Team 7 walked out the gate, making their way to Nami no Kuni.

Next time: the wave mission begins.

Nami no Kuni – Land of Waves

Kawa no Kuni – Land of Rivers

Densetsu no Sannin - Literally meaning "Legendary Three Ninja": The Sannin was a group of three legendary ninja, noted to be three of the greatest ninja of their time. While all three eventually left the village at some point for their own reasons, they still retained their title as the Sannin. Their names are Senju Tsunade, Jiraiya and Orochimaru.


	4. To Nami no Kuni!

**Disclaimer** : I do not own Naruto

 **Chapter 4: To Nami no Kuni with demons in the mist**

Team 7 was walking down a road in the middle of the forest surrounding Konoha. They had only left said village a few hours ago, and had some days of journey ahead of them. Tazuna was walking in the middle of the group, with Kakashi walking behind the rest, pretending to read his little orange book while giggling perversely, to complete the illusion. He didn't think much was going to happen on this mission, maybe a few thugs, one or two bandits, but nothing his team couldn't handle. But he knew he had to keep an eye out; he was responsible for the safety of his team, and he wouldn't let anything happen to them, even if it meant giving his own life in the process.

In the front Sasuke was walking, with Sakura trying to get his attention by trying to start a conversation, but she wasn't very successful; all she got in return was scoffs, and if she were lucky, a couple of "hn" from didn't matter that much to her; she just kept telling Sasuke of her life, all the things she wanted for the future and so on.

Naruto was walking on the right side of Tazuna, while enjoying the day. He was working on the water balloon that Jiraiya gave him, but he hadn't had much luck. So far it would only bent one way, nothing what Jiraiya's balloon had looked like. But he kept trying.

He looked over at Sakura and Sasuke _'Now she even let her fangirlish tendencies disrupt missions. She is supposed to walk on Tazuna-ojisan's left side to guard him. I guess it doesn't matter much right now; this is only a C-rank, but… I really got to figure a way to get into her head that she got to start taking being a kunoichi serious. If not, she could be killed, or one of us could, try to protect her…'_ Absently glancing at their sensei, he noticed the silver-haired Jounin lone visible eye expressed the same feeling observing Sakura's current actions.

Eventually the rosette ran out of things to talk to Sasuke about, and turned towards the bridge-builder "Tazuna-san, can I ask you about something?"

Tazuna looked at the little pink haired girl "What is it?"

"You're from Nami no Kuni, right?" she asked curiously

"What about it?" he asked just a little irritated. The drunkard was an old man, and he wasn't known for his patience.

"I was just wondering why you didn't use ninja from your own country? Don't you have a village there?"

It was Kakashi who answered "no, there are no ninja in Nami no Kuni. Some countries are too small, too poor, or simply don't want or need a ninja village. For Nami it's the latter. It's remote and isn't influenced or influencing easily by other countries, so there is no need for a ninja village. If a small country, like Nami, needs help from shinobi, they get it from a village from another country, like Konoha."

Tazuna nodded "you're quite right" and left it at that. After that they walked in silence, only interrupted by Sakura trying to get Sasuke to talk again from time to time.

They continued like that for a few more hours. They were almost out of the forest, when Naruto noticed something. It was a little pool of water in the middle of the road. He frowned _'That's odd. It hasn't rained for over two weeks; in fact, it has been quite the opposite. There hasn't been more than a few clouds on the heaven, and it's been baking hot. And yet, here in the middle of the road, in a month where the sun has been high in the sky, there is a water puddle.'_ He thought for a few seconds, trying to figure out how it could be _'Could it be?'_ He glanced back at Kakashi, who subtly nodded without taking his eyes off his book. They continued forward.

They passed the puddle without either of Sakura or Sasuke noticing the oddity. When they had passed it by a few meters it quietly morphed into two cloaked people. Kakashi and Naruto had noticed it, but didn't show. Quickly, one of the persons threw the other, retracting the kunai-chain that was connecting the two through gauntlets. They quickly wrapped Kakashi in it, before stopping on each side of him. The rest of the group turned around. Tazuna, Sasuke and Sakura looked shocked, while Naruto acted like it, but in reality he knew that Kakashi had a plan. Naruto took a closer look at the two now obvious shinobi, and saw their hitai-ate's _'Kirigakure. What are kiri-nin doing here?'_

The two kiri-nin retracted the kunai-chain, slicing what appeared to be Kakashi in half. "First one down" the one on the left said. They quickly disappeared in a blur of speed, only to reappear behind Naruto "Second one". Their chain began to extend out, trying to wrap itself around Naruto. He wouldn't have any of that; he stomped in the ground, making a small wall of crystal appear between him and the kiri-nin.

They were stunned, and before they could react, a shuriken followed by a kunai impaled their chain on a tree behind them. Sasuke was up in the air going through some hand signs. He took a deep breath, before spewing out a large fireball " _Katon: Gōkakyū no jutsu_ ". The kiri-nin tried to pull the chain out of the tree, but quickly realized that they couldn't. They snapped the chain from their gauntlet, and dodged by jumped each their way, but they weren't finished yet. One of them charged towards Sasuke, and the other towards Tazuna, both planning to strike their target down with their claw.

Sakura quickly got in front of Tazuna with a kunai in her hand _'I have to protect him! He is our charge! But how? How can I do this?'_ she trembled lightly "Stay back Tazuna-san!"

Naruto saw this. He wasn't concerned about Sasuke; as much as an ass he was, he could take care of himself. But it was another story with Sakura. This was exactly what he had feared might happen. He saw the kiri-nin get closer and closer to the pink haired kunoichi, and knew he had to do something fast. Quickly he went through hand signs and slapped his hand down on the ground " _Shoton: Suisho no Hashira._ "

Before the shinobi from kiri could react, he was shot seven meters into the air by a crystal pillar that had appeared under him. He narrowed his eyes when he looked down and saw the blond ninja holding his hand palm on the ground. Naruto smirked "Your battle is with me!"

Naruto quickly glanced over at Sasuke before his own battle started. He was doing ok as far as he could see; he were dodging most attacks, and quickly japing to counter. He looked back at his own opponent who was jumping down from the pillar. He looked at Sakura; he eyes were full of fear. He nodded at her with a smile. It seemed to help a little, as she tried to smile and nodded back at him.

Naruto jumped back to dodge the claw that was slashing at him from above. The kiri-nin was glaring at him. Naruto just smirked "Now, you can't expect me to nicely stay in one place. That would just be too easy, now wouldn't it?" He only got a growl in response. The kiri-nin began slashing at Naruto, who dodged it each and every time. Naruto jumped back after thirty second of that and laughed a bit "You will have to do better than that".

Sasuke heard Naruto laugh, and looked over to see how easily he was handling his opponent. It angered him _'Trying to show me up, are you dobe? Not going to work! I'm gonna get my opponent down in no time!'_ he thought as he ducked under yet another strike, only to counter with a kick in the stomach, which pushed his opponent back a meter or two. He charged his opponent and unleashed a flurry of punches and kick from his Uchiha style. However he was unfocused, this caused him to be left open, not going unnoticed by the kiri-nin. He slashed towards Sasuke's not open ribs. Sasuke saw it, but couldn't block it; he wasn't fast enough. Just before it hit, a couple of crystals shot up from the ground, blocking the attack.

"Teme! Get your game together! I can't fight both our fights!" Naruto yelled, jumping over a strike and kicking his opponent in the face. Sasuke scoffed.

In Naruto's fight, he was the clear superior thanks to his hard earned training plus Ero-Sennin. The longer they fought, the more of an advantage he had. The kiri-nin kept slashing at him, exhausting himself like that. Sasuke's were another story. They were close to equals, and it didn't help that Sasuke didn't keep his head cool. He tried to prove himself because of how good Naruto was doing, resulting in him getting bruises here and there, but no cuts so far.

Naruto winced when his opponent finally got him; he had a scratch across the back of his hand. Naruto decided that he had had enough of it "Sasuke, throw yours over here".

Sasuke looked annoyed by the fact that his blond teammate was giving him orders, but complied. The next time his opponent slashed at him, he grabbed his arms, and threw him over at Naruto's opponent. They knocked each other to the ground, and Naruto went through a seals " _Kessho Purizumu_ ". Three glass-thin red crystals grew out of the ground, encasing the kiri-nin in a prism. But Naruto didn't stop there; he went through another set of seals, before slamming his hand on the red crystal " _Shoton: Baningu Kosoku._ " From the sides of the crystal prism, crystal chains shot out, wrapping around the two enemy shinobi. When it was done, Naruto lowered the prism, only leaving the two kiri-nin sitting on the ground. Before they could react, Naruto knocked them both out by slamming them on the neck.

That's when Kakashi came out of the tree-line clapping. "Very good, I'm impressed" he said with an eye smile. Sakura and Sasuke watched him with wide eyes, before glancing over where they thought they had seen him getting sliced in half. There were only wood-pieces left there – a clear evidence of a Kawarimi. Naruto just watched passively. He didn't think there was a way for Kakashi to get taken down by two ninja of that caliber.

Tazuna scoffed "Why didn't you help your students? They could've died! I knew I should've asked for some better shinobi" he said sounding a little bit irritated.

Kakashi looked back at him without emotion "I was standing in the tree-line all the time, ready to jump in at any moment if the need should arise."

He paused walking over to the kiri-nin, inspecting the crystal chains. Loosening them, the Jounin dragged the unconscious duo to the nearest tree. The silver-haired Jounin comments; "Now, isn't there something you would like to tell us? Those two are the Demon Brothers of Kiri; Gozu and Meizu. They are two C-rank missing-nin. While they could've been after one of us, but that is highly unlikely. For one reason; these three" Kakashi gestured towards his team "are newly graduated ninja; they haven't made their name yet. It's true they could've been after me, but I don't have anything standing with Kiri. Another reason is that we just got assigned to this mission. Not even the Hokage knew we were going to get it, before we did. So that only leaves you" Kakashi continued while tying up the Demon Brothers. Tazuna gulped. Kakashi ignored it for now and turned towards Naruto "You can dispel your chains now" Naruto nodded and snapped his fingers, making his chains shatter. While Naruto didn't need to snap, he loved how it looked. But to give him some credit, he was still a twelve year old, ninja or not. Kakashi saw the cut at Naruto's hand "Naruto, their blades are poisoned, don't move too much, or the poison will spread".

Kakashi turned towards Tazuna "I'll ask you more directly: are there any reasons for two missing-nin to be after you? Because we haven't heard anything about you being targeted by missing-nin. Your request was to protect you from armed groups like thugs or robbers. This is a mission that's above C-rank, possibly B-rank borderline A-rank. Our mission was to support and guard you until you completed the bridge. If ninja are our enemy, this mission would have been an expensive B- or A-rank. It looks like you have your reasons, but it only troubles us if you lie in your request details. This" he gestured to The Demon Brothers "wasn't a part of the mission."

That's when Sakura spoke up "This mission is out of our league. We may have been able to defeat these guys, but they couldn't have been more than high genin to low chunin level skill wise. If whoever is after you send stronger shinobi, we will be in trouble. Let's quit. We also need anesthesia to take out the poisoned blood out of Naruto. We need to go back to the village and see a doctor!" In the weeks since they had graduated, Naruto had grown on her some. While she still found him annoying from time to time, and she didn't like the way he acted towards Sasuke, she had started to respect him for his skills. Something she never thought she would in the Academy.

"No, that's not needed" the group looked at Naruto. Naruto looked at Sakura "Can I borrow a kunai please?" she was weary, not knowing what he was going to do, but lent him one. As soon as he had it in his hand, he quickly stabbed the back of his hand, forcing a lot of blood out.

Sakura gasped "What are you doing baka!"

Naruto shrugged "The mission is still on"

"Naruto, it's nice that you took out the poisoned blood and all, but you're going to die from loss of blood if any more comes out" Kakashi said with a carefree voice.

Naruto just laughed at the comment "As if that could happen". He knew of the Kyuubi's regenerative abilities that he had gotten. He dried off the blood from the kunai, and handed it to Sakura "Thanks for lending it to me". He then went on to drying off his hand in the grass, before continuing walking down the path.

Kakashi soon followed, with the rest of the group close behind. He watched the hand, and could see it was already healing _'So that's what he meant. It must be the Kyuubi's power. He knows more about it than I would have thought'._

\- Fortress, Unknown location -

"Failed!? I spent a lot of money to hire all of you because I heard you all were skilled ninja!" a short man in a business suit said looking at a larger man, who was sitting in a throne-like chair.

"Stop complaining!" the man in the chair sneered, swinging a big butcher-like knife at the shorter man, just to stop inches from his throat. "I'll use this decapitating "knife" and kill those guys."

The shorter man didn't seem to believe he could do it, and starting talking in a mocking tone "Do you really think you will be ok? It looks like the enemy has hired good shinobi, and since the Demon Brothers failed in the assassination, they'll be more cautious, so it won't be easy"

"Who do you think I am?" the sword wielding person said, not liking the tone the shorter man was speaking to him in. "I, Momochi Zabuza, was called the Demon of Kirigakure."

The shorter man looked at him glaring back "fine, do what you want. But I expect him to be dead – and soon" he said, walking away.

\- Team 7 campsite later that night -

Naruto was sitting on a hill at the edge of the camp. Kakashi had taken the first watch, and he was taking the second. He was sitting reading the book on fūinjutsu. He almost understood the concept behind the explosion tags. But he knew he couldn't make them yet. The blonde made a note to himself to have his clones work on his handwriting. He wasn't ashamed to say that it sucked; he hadn't really needed it – until now.

He heard steps behind and looked over his shoulder, to see Sakura walking towards him he turned to his book again "Can't sleep?"

"No" her voice sounded behind him "I was – hey! Aren't you supposed to keep watch?" she asked a little accusingly. Naruto didn't answer, instead he pointed to places at the edge of the camp. She looked to see a couple of kage bunshin. "Oh, sorry…"

"No problem" he flipped a page "why can't you sleep?"

She hesitated. She didn't really know if she wanted to share this with Naruto. She sighed, and sat down a meter beside him "I keep thinking about the battle. And then now, how tired Sasuke is because of it… I don't know."

This time it was Naruto's turn to hesitate. This was the moment he had waited for; the moment he could try to get her to act more like a kunoichi instead of a fangirl. "I have some advice, but I don't know how much you're going to like it." She just looked at him, as he continued "You need to get it together. We're shinobi now; we aren't just students. If it had been only you today, Tazuna and you would have been killed."

Sakura frowned. She didn't like it, but he was true "what would you have me do then?"

"Stop being a fan girl" was his tactless blunt response.

"I'm not a fan girl!" Naruto looked up from his book and gave her a look that said 'Are you kidding me?' She sighed "ok, maybe just a little bit"

Naruto shook his head with an amused grin on his lips "Try to take being a kunoichi more serious. Don't go on diet, you need the energy the food gives you. If you train without it, you will just become skinny. And not the good skinny you want, I mean bad unhealthy skinny. I don't think Sasuke would like that very much" she blushed like she had just found out her secret crush "and then start training. Stop caring so much about your clothes, hair and so on. Start focusing on training more." He paused "And for the record, it may even help your chances with Sasuke" it hurt a bit to say that to the girl he had a crush on "Sasuke is attracted to power. So if you become a powerful kunoichi, you may even get him."

Sakura nodded. She didn't like everything that was said. She needed to think about it. She rose and started walking back to her tent, but stopped and turned halfway around "Thank you… Naruto." Naruto just lifted his hand and half waved without looking up from his book, as to say 'no problem'. She walked to her tent, and tried to get some sleep before her watch was coming up. However her thoughts lingered some, especially on the new attitude of their blond teammate.

He changed so much since the academy… and ever since learning he has a Kekkai Genkai, he has been more responsible. He still acts only a little goofy, but he does not even ask me out on dates any more…

For whatever reason she felt a ping in her heart from that. He still calls her Sakura-Chan, but overall he has acted much more appropriate to her. Yet something still mewled at her.

' _I really like this Naruto…. But kind of miss the old one… a little bit…'_

\- Early next morning -

Team 7 and Tazuna were sailed in a little boat in the thick morning mist. They were sailing from the mainland to the largest island of Nami no Kuni. The boat didn't even have a motor; it was propelled forward by a guy who was slowly paddling, trying to make as little noise as possible.

"The mist is so thick. I can't see anything in it" Sakura stated.

No one answered her right away, but Tazuna broke the silence "We should be able to see the bridge soon"

"If we sail alongside the bridge, we should be in Nami no Kuni soon" the paddling guy said.

And as if on command, the bridge appeared out of the mist. The Genin were stunned; it was huge. They had never seen anything like it. "Wow… that's unbelievable." Naruto said a little highly, while the other Genin nodded in agreement.

The paddling guy didn't like it "Hey, be quiet! We're using this boat and hiding in the mist. That's why I'm rowing instead of using an engine. In other words; if we get caught, we'll be in serious trouble!"

"Sorry" Naruto said lowly.

Kakashi was looking at the old bridge builder "Tazuna-san, before the boat gets to the pier, there's something I need to ask you." Tazuna looked like he knew what was coming "Who are the people who are after you, and why are they after you. That or we call the mission when you get ashore, and return to Konoha."

All the eyes of the Konoha shinobi were on the bridge-builder "it looked like I have to tell you the real story. I mean, I would like for you to hear my story. As you said" he nodded towards Sakura "this mission is most likely out of your job description and capabilities." He paused. No one was commenting, just looking at him intensely. "An extremely terrible man is after my life."

"Who is it?" Sakura asked

"You should have all at least heard of the name… Marine transportation billionaire Gatou."

That surprised Kakashi "Gatou? The one from the Gatou Company? He's one of the richest men on the elemental continent."

Tazuna nodded "Yeah, he is the president of the Gatou Company on the outside. But underground he uses gangs and ninjas to smuggle drugs and contraband goods. He also does a nasty jobs like takeovers of other companies and small countries. And one year ago, he set his sight on Nami no Kuni. He entered this country using violence and wealth as his shield and he quickly took over the island's sea traffic and transportation."

"Of course…" Naruto said, bringing all eyes on him.

"Of course what dobe?" Sasuke asked, irritated that Naruto apparently figured something out before him.

"If you wanted to take over a country like Nami, what would be the first thing you were going to do?" neither Sakura nor Sasuke answered him. "Take over the shipping industry. If you control that, you control everything in a country like this. They use the shipping industry to get things from the mainland, to transport stuff between the islands and so on. In a country like Nami, controlling the sea means ruling over the wealth, politics and the people. By taking over the shipping industry, you effectively control close to everything in a country like this."

Sakura was wide eyed; _'he actually paid attention?! I thought he slept through the studies?'_

"You're quite right" Tazuna nodded in agreement "And the one thing Gatou fears is the completion of my bridge, which has been under construction for quite some time."

Sakura seemed to catch on "I see… So you, as the one building the bridge, it became an obstacle to him."

"Then those ninjas were sent by Gatou" Sasuke concluded

Kakashi turned back to look at Tazuna "But what I don't understand is this: He's a dangerous man that uses shinobi. Why did you hide that fact when you came to us?"

It wasn't him that answered, but Naruto "isn't it obvious Kakashi-sensei?" Kakashi looked questioning at Naruto "Gatou has taken over the economy of this place, so the people here can't have much money to begin with. And then add the fact that they are building the bridge, they have even less. I'm guessing they didn't have enough money to pay for a higher ranking mission. But if you ask me, Sandaime-jiji would probably have made a deal with you guys, though you wouldn't know that."

"You're right again. Nami no Kuni is a really poor country. Even the feudal lord doesn't have much money. We don't have the money to request for an expensive B-rank or above mission… If you quit your mission after I land, I'll be killed for sure while I go home…" He paused "But there's no need for you to blame yourselves. Only my cute eight year old grandson will cry and cry and cry some more." Naruto got a feeling he knew where this was going "And my daughter will hold a grudge against Konoha and its shinobi and live a lonely life." He paused again, looking around at the sweat dropped faces of the Konoha-nin "But it's not your fault."

Kakashi seemed to be thinking for a second "I guess it can't be helped then. We will continue to escort you."

"That's good to hear."

It hadn't been much longer after that conversation before they had seen shore. Now they were walking down one of the many paths in Nami no Kuni to Tazuna's home. Team 7 was on guard, now that they knew what they were up knew that Gatou probably would send stronger shinobi next time.

They were walking cautiously down one of the many roads in Wave. They were surrounding Tazuna, Kakashi taking the rear, Naruto taking the front, and Sasuke and Sakura taking the flanks. Suddenly Naruto conjured a couple of shuriken, and threw them into some bushes. The rest of the team stopped in their tracks, holding their kunai in defensive positions.

They kept their guard up. Then Naruto blinked a few times "Sorry, I thought I heard something over there."

"You're such a dobe" Sasuke said, putting his kunai down his kunai-holder again.

Kakashi nodded at Naruto before heading over to the moved it away, finding a dead white-furred bunny. The Jounin frowned ' _That's a snow rabbit. But what's with the color of its fur? They only have white fur during winter, when the days are short_.' He looked around the tree-line, trying to spot anyone close by. That means it is a rabbit that was raised inside a place where the sun isn't a factor, highly likely for the Kawarimi no jutsu. He kept looking around, not going unnoticed by Naruto and Sasuke. Sasuke had been shown up by Naruto more than he liked in the past few days. They readied themselves.

Kakashi spotted a sliver of silver in the corner of his eye. "Everyone, get down!" A big butcher-like sword were flying like a deadly Frisbee through the air, heading towards were Tazuna was standing. Naruto took action first, grabbing Tazuna's sleeve, and ducked, forcing the old man with him. Sasuke wasn't far behind, grabbing Sakura's wrist. The sword flew over their heads by mere centimeters, before hitting and embedding itself in a tree behind them. A man appeared on the handle of the sword.

"Sharingan no Kakashi. I see. Shinobi on the level of the Demon Brothers couldn't have handled you." The man looked over the Konoha-nin.

Kakashi stepped forward. "That may very well be, but it wasn't me who took them down. It was my team" he looked the man over.

Sasuke meanwhile reacted on the Sharingan part. _'Kakashi-sensei has the Sharingan? But I thought only members of my clan had it'_ he frowned, then smiled a bit, as much as Sasuke can smile anyway, _'I guess I can learn a thing or two from him after all.'_

"Momochi Zabuza, also known as the Demon of the Hidden Mist. Current status: missing-nin. Forced into hiding after an unsuccessful coup d'état against the Yondaime Mizukage" Kakashi looked back at his team. "Team, stay back. You'll only get in the way"

Sasuke scoffed at that "Why? We took the Demon Brothers down pretty easy!" now it was Naruto's turn to scoff. Sasuke turned towards him "Do you have something to say?"

"Yeah, the Demon Brothers must've hit your head pretty hard. The Demon Brothers were high genin to low chunin level. Momochi Zabuza, on the other hand, is at low to mid Jounin level; we wouldn't stand a chance. The only one on our team who has a chance is Kakashi-sensei, and the best teamwork we can offer him right now, is stay out of his way" Naruto was so glad he had talked Jiji into giving him one of the bingo books. He had memorized it, so he would know when to fight and when to run. Sasuke just scoffed. Kakashi nodded approvingly back at Naruto.

"Now, we can do this in one of two ways. One: you simply hand over the old man, and I let you go without a scratch" Zabuza's voice sounded. Then he smirked, jumping down from his spot on the sword, taking it with him down "Or two: you refuse, and I kill you all before you can count to five" he finished, getting in to his battle-stance.

Kakashi looked seriously at Zabuza. _'If he is our enemy'_ Kakashi moved his hand up towards his hitai-ate, pulling it up slightly _'I can't afford to hold back'_ he pushed the hitai-ate the rest of the way up, exposing his left eye: The Sharingan. He turned his face slightly, to see his team out of the corner of his eye "everyone,form the triangle formation. Protect Tazuna-san" the three Genin were fast, taking the position: Tazuna in the middle, with the three Genin standing around, Sakura and Sasuke having regular kunai up in front of them, and Naruto having a crystal version.

"Oh, I'm honored. I get to see the famous Sharingan right of the bat. This will be interesting" he continued while a thick mist was forming "but let's cut the chit-chat now". He vanished in a blur of speed, before reappearing on top of a lake. The three Genin were surprised and impressed by the speed, but it quickly turned into fear. They realized they didn't have chance, what so ever, against him.

Zabuza stood with half the ram sign in front of his chest, while his other arm was pointing up. The water under him started to make small waves, while water particles swirled around him _. 'He's putting a lot of chakra into the water'_ Kakashi noticed. He brought up his kunai, ready to charge.

He didn't make it before Zabuza casted his jutsu. " _Kirigakure no Jutsu_ " the mist peaked; Team 7 couldn't see three feet in front of them.

The Genin couldn't see Kakashi anymore, and tightened up their stance. "Eight points" it sounded from everywhere and nowhere. "The larynx, spine, lungs, liver, jugular vein, collarbone, kidney, and the heart. Eight points I need to strike once, and you're dead" the Genin shuddered "Now, how do you wish to die?"

Kakashi, also hearing this, summoned a bunch of chakra, making a small shockwave, effectively pushing away the mist just around him and his team. Sasuke was frozen in fear _'what an intense thirst for blood! One breathing motion, or one eye movement will be detected, and it'll get me killed… What an atmosphere! If I stay here much longer, I'll go insane!'_ Sasuke started trembling now.

"Sasuke" Kakashi's voice sounded. "Don't worry. I'll protect the three of you with my life. I won't let anyone on my team die" he said with an eye-smile.

"I wonder about that, Kakashi" Zabuza's voice sounded again, right before he appeared in between the three Genin. Kakashi reacted fast, charging at Zabuza, pushing him back. Zabuza was wide-eyed

"The fight begins now" Kakashi said, slashing at Zabuza with impressive speed. The missing-nin simply jumped back, dodging the slash. Before he had landed, Kakashi brought up three more kunai, casting them towards Zabuza. He dodged one, but the others hit their marks, on dead-center in the forehead, and two in the chest. Zabuza was standing still, before beginning to leak water.

That's when another figure appeared behind with a slashing motion. "Sensei, watch out! Behind you!" Sakura yelled, but too late. Kakashi was cut in half. The time seemed to slow down for the Genin, before what they had thought to be Kakashi to burst into water.

Zabuza looked wide eyed. _'He copied my jutsu!? I didn't even see him make the hand signs!'_

Kakashi appeared behind Zabuza, holding up a Kunai close to his throat. Zabuza sliced his sword towards Kakashi, who quickly blocked with his kunai. He hadn't expected the force though, and was forced out on the lake. Zabuza was close behind, standing a couple of meters away facing his opponent.

"I must say, you live up to your nickname, Copy Ninja Kakashi. I am impressed; and I'm not easily impressed" Zabuza voiced. "But now we're in my element" he started making hand signs. Kakashi did the same signs at the exact same moment. When they were through with the signs, both of them yelled " _Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu_ " two great dragons shaped out of water morphed out of the waters, heading for the other. They collided with great force that caused a shockwave. The two Jounin guarded themselves.

Zabuza looked in shock at his opponent _'how did he do that? He didn't simply copy my jutsu; he used it the exact same time! Could he be…?'_

"Reading my mind?" it came from Kakashi.

Zabuza looked even more shocked than more, but quickly reined it in. "I don't know what you did, but it ends here."

Zabuza charged again, closing in, forcing the two shinobi to use Taijutsu. Zabuza sliced at his opponent, but Kakashi blocked with his kunai. Zabuza frowned, putting more force into it. He won the struggle, forcing Kakashi underwater.

Kakashi quickly swam to the surface again _. 'What the matter with this water? It's so heavy!'_ He thought while climbing up on the surface again.

Zabuza grinned at that "I'm afraid you've fallen into my trap Kakashi". He appeared behind the half submerged Kakashi and went through some hand signs again " _Suiro no Jutsu._ "

Kakashi looked back at Zabuza who were standing with a hand extended towards him. 'Shit!'

The water quickly formed a sphere around him and Zabuza's hand. _'I thought I could use the water as cover, but it turned out to be a mistake on my part'_ Kakashi thought, while trying to think of a way to get out of the water-prison.

Zabuza laughed "I told you this was my element. You give me a hard time when you're moving, but now that won't be a problem." He looked over at Tazuna and team 7 "Now then, Kakashi, I'm going to finish you off later. First, I'm going to get rid of them". He made a hand sign " _Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu_ " a water clone appeared.

Back at Tazuna Team 7 was starring wide-eyed in fear. Kakashi had been captured! They were all trying to figure a way out of this mess. They knew they couldn't handle an Jounin level ninja. Their only chance was to find a way to release Kakashi from the water prison.

Naruto leaned towards Sasuke "Try do distract him, I have a plan that may work". Sasuke stared back at his teammate for a moment, before nodding.

Sasuke faced the water clone again. He began casting a barrage of kunai and shuriken, but to no avail. The clone simply dodged and blocked them. Sasuke summoned a fuma shuriken, casting it, hoping it would buy him just a bit of time, and then went through the hand signs for his clans' Katon jutsu. He took a deep breath and breathed out a large fireball " _Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu_ ". The clone was surprised that a Genin could use such an advanced jutsu, but again dodged it with ease. Sasuke was starting to pant slightly; the jutsu had taken a good portion of his chakra, and he hadn't recovered fully from the encounter with the Demon Brothers- "Dobe, I hope you're done soon. I can't hold him off much longer."

Naruto nodded "Hai, just give me a few more seconds Teme" he needed a lot of chakra for this jutsu. While he had monster reserves, it wasn't easy to summon a huge amount at once. "There" he made hand seals " _Shoton: Kessho Gokakuro_ " the ground under the clone, and the water under Kakashi's water prison glowed brightly pink, before they were encased in crystal. Naruto concentrated and made the ram seal "funsai!" the clone shattered into a thousand pieces, and so did the prison, leaving Kakashi free, who jumped back to get clear of Zabuza's range. He was impressed with Naruto; _'he guessed it wasn't easy to crystallize some, but not all, of something like his water prison.'_

Zabuza was shocked. He looked over at the blond Genin, who were looking intensely back at him. He turned to Kakashi and asked a simple question "How?"

Kakashi looked at Zabuza, and quickly glanced over at Shino, before making eye-contact again "The blond Genin on team. He possess Shoton"

A look of surprise spread across Zabuza's face _'Shoton!? I haven't even heard about it before now…'_ he looked at Naruto again.

Kakashi then turned serious once again "But now, this really must end".

Zabuza began making hand signs, Kakashi following. Just before Zabuza was done, Kakashi cried " _Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu!_ "

Zabuza was wide eyed _'This time he didn't do it at the same time as me. He did it before me!'_ Water began encircling around Kakashi, before shooting towards Zabuza. There was too much to be able to dodge. He was slammed away by the great mass of water.

It slammed him through multiple trees, before pinning him to one. Before he could look around, three kunai flew towards him, impaling him in different spots. Kakashi jumped and stood on a branch of the tree, while the water resided. Zabuza was panting heavily now. The water had really roughed him up. He looked down on the ground "Can you… Can you see the future?" he asked Kakashi.

Said person looked down at him "Yeah. And I tell you what I can see." He brought up another kunai "You're going to die". He jumped down, and was just about to strike, when his senses told him to jump away. He did so, only to see three senbon needles hitting Zabuza in the neck. His eyes rolled back in the head, and his body fell to the ground lifeless.

Kakashi and team 7 were stunned. They looked back to where the senbon needles had come from. They saw boy, not much older than themselves, standing. He has a mask over his face "It was true. He did die".

Kakashi jumped over to where Zabuza's apparent body was, checking for any life signs. He didn't find any "he really is dead". He looked back at boy who had killed his opponent.

The boy bowed slightly "thank you very much. I was looking for a chance to kill Zabuza".

"That mask… If I remember correctly, you must be a hunter-nin from Kirigakure" Kakashi said.

The boy stood up straight again "You are well informed, Sharingan Kakashi". He paused for a moment before continuing "yes, I am a member of the pursuing shinobi unit that hunts missing-nin." Kakashi looked analyzing on the hunter-nin _'judging from his height and voice, he must not be that older than Sasuke and the others. Yet, he is a hunter-nin.'_ He looked over him again _'he's no ordinary kid.'_

The hunter-nin shunshined over to Zabuza's corpse, taking its arm across his neck, effectively carrying it "Your battle ends here for now. I must go dispose of this corpse. It's a body filled with secrets. If you'll excuse me" he finished, then shunshined away.

Kakashi, looking at where the hunter-nin had been, pushed down his hitai-ate, covering his Sharingan again. He turned towards his team and Tazuna "Our mission hasn't ended yet. We need to escort Tazuna-san to his house" the Genin nodded.

Tazuna grinned "Sorry about that, everyone! Just rest at my house!" the shinobi just sweat dropped at Tazuna's carefree attitude.

 _'No more than two minutes ago was he close to dying, and there he is standing grinning'_ Sasuke thought. He sighed deeply.

"Ok, let's go everyone!" Kakashi said, stating to head down the road. He hadn't gone more than a few steps, when he collapsed.

His team was beside him quickly with Sakura examining him "he looks ok. I can't be sure though". She turned towards Tazuna "How long is there to your house?"

Tazuna looked down on Kakashi "It's just up the road. Shouldn't be more than half an hour away by now" Sakura nodded at that.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Kirigakure – Village hidden in the Mist: One of the five major shinobi villages.

Shoton: Suisho no Hashira – Crystal Release: Crystal Pillar: The user summons a big pink crystal pillar, which can shoot himself or opponents high up in the air. It can be attached or unattached to the ground. The size of the pillar is depending on the user's chakra and control.

Kessho Purizumu – Crystal Prism: A jutsu that has a variety of uses. This technique allows the user to focus chakra into the ground and three triangular walls of crystal shot up out of the ground and enclose around the target. The prism is large enough to enclose two or three average sized people if they are close together. The user can use it as a method of defense against assault from any angle or attempt to use the crystal walls to seal and trap any enemies inside the prism, making it a handy trick to trap any escaping ninja. Despite the red walls appearing glass thin, this jutsu is very resilient against Ninjutsu attacks, and it takes a lot of physical force to break through.

Shoton: Baningu Kosoku – Crystal Release: Burning Restraints: The user converts his chakra intro crystal, which forms chains. The chains can be loosed or tightened at the will of the user.

Sharingan - Literally meaning "Copy Wheel Eye" or "Mirror Wheel Eye": is a dojutsu Kekkai Genkai, which appears in some members of the Uchiha clan. The Sharingan is also called "Heaven's Eye" because of the many abilities it grants the user.

Kirigakure no Jutsu – Hiding in Mist Technique: This displacement technique is a specialty of the ninja from Kirigakure, where one causes a mist to spring forth by lifting up some water from either a pre-existing source or expelled from their mouth,[2] then goes in and out of sight at will from within the pearly-white realm. The mist's thickness is controlled by the amount of chakra kneaded into it.

Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu – Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique: This technique shapes a large amount of water into a giant, powerful dragon, which hits the opponent with formidable might, dealing physical damage. The ideal place to use it is near a body of water, but if the user's skill allows it, it is possible to use it even in a place where there is none. The amount of water used will be in proportion with the user's skill.

Suiro no Jutsu – Water Prison Technique: This technique is used to trap a victim inside a virtually inescapable sphere of water. The only downside to this technique is that the user must keep at least one arm inside the sphere at all times in order for the victim to remain imprisoned. This technique requires a sufficient amount of water, which can be provided by expelling it from one's mouth. Despite the fact that the prison is made up entirely out of water, it is stronger than steel. Once trapped the target is unable to move while within it due to the heaviness of the water. Because of the density of the water it can be used, to a limited extent, for defensive purposes if performed on oneself. It can also be stored in scrolls as traps.

Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu – Water Clone Technique: The Water Clone Technique is similar to the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu except it creates clones out of water that have one-tenth of the original person's power. Like other solid clone techniques, the clones can be used to perform tasks the user is unable or unwilling to do for themselves. The range of the clone is limited however, as it cannot travel very far from the original body without losing control. Like other clone techniques, if the water clones are injured enough they will revert back to normal water.

Shoton: Kessho Gokakuro – Crystal Release: Crystal Pentagonal Prison: The user completely encases her opponents in crystal. When the crystal is shattered, the bodies of the victims disintegrate along with the crystal particles.

Funsai – Shatter.

Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu – Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique: This technique extends water over a large scale, surges and rises up to several dozen meters high. Then it streams down to the ground in one big cascade, much like a gigantic waterfall. In doing so, it resembles a huge wave, with tremendous power that can hollow out the ground. What remains after that technique's utilization is reminiscent of no less than the aftermath of a natural disaster. This is a considerably advanced Ninjutsu, and activating this technique requires a fair amount of chakra.


	5. A week in Nami making lucky charms

**Disclaimer** : I do not own Naruto

 **Chapter 5: A week in Nami making lucky charms**

\- At Tazuna's home -

Kakashi's visible eye fluttered open. He was looking up at a wooden ceiling _'I used the Sharingan too much… At least we beat Zabuza'_

"Oi sensei, you're awake" Kakashi rolled his head and looked over at his blond Genin sitting cross-legged beside him. "I'll tell the boss" Naruto said before puffing away in smoke. Kakashi raised his eyebrow _'He was a shadow clone… so that's how he's done it'_

It didn't take long before he could hear footsteps out in the hallway along with "dobe, how can you know he's awake? You have been with us all along" from what sounded like Sasuke.

"Just trust me on this one teme" Naruto said

"Naruto-Baka! Stop calling Sasuke things like that!" it came from Sakura.

Then the door slit open "See, I told you he was awake" the blond Genin said with a big smile.

Sakura rolled her eyes and made her way over to where Kakashi was laying "It's good to see you're awake again" she paused while she sat down beside him "The Sharingan really is amazing, but it puts a lot of strain on the body. I'm not sure if it's good or bad"

"No" Naruto said while making his way to the other side of the futon "it's because it isn't Kakashi-sensei's Sharingan. Only the members of the Uchiha clan can get it. I'm guessing you had it transplanted, and by what I saw, it was when you were quite young." The other looked at him like he was crazy. While they had slowly started to accept that Naruto actually knew stuff, it was still surprising that he could estimate when Kakashi had his eye transplanted, just by looking at it once. It had also caught Sasuke's attention, since it was his Kekkai Genkai the subject was one. Naruto continued "Normally the Sharingan, or the Byakugan for that matter, doesn't take that much chakra or do so much strain on the body, but I'm guessing because it isn't a part of his body, it takes much more. People with Kekkai Genkai are normally born with bodies adapted to it, as the Uchiha clan, who hasn't the biggest chakra reserves, but very precise chakra control. This is so they can control the flow in and out of their eyes more precisely, and better control their Sharingan."

Kakashi nodded affirmative on what Naruto said "he is right. It does strain my body much more, than it would on any Uchiha. By the way, how long have I been out?"

While Naruto had talked, Tazuna and Tsunami, Tazuna's daughter, had made his way in "You shouldn't worry about your brats. They carried you here about two hours ago." Tazuna paused "And at least you beat that creepy Kiri shinobi. Or the masked kid did anyway."

Sakura turned back to Kakashi "Ano sensei… Who are the hunter-nin's?"

Kakashi laid his head back down and closed his eye to rest. To say the Sharingan had strained his body was a great understatement. Sakura was almost beginning to think, that he wouldn't answer, when he spoke up "The hunter-nin's are a special department from the village's ANBU. They are also known as the fire extinguishing unit, and their job is to erase any evidence that a shinobi was alive. A shinobi's body will give away the secret of their jutsu, if said shinobi had a special chakra type, and any specific medicine that was used on the body, along with various other things…" he paused and opened his eye to look around on the audience. "For example, if I died, the secrets of the Sharingan would be examined… Or if Naruto died, his Shoton would be studied, and possibly copied." He looked at Naruto when he said his name.

Naruto got shivers up his spine _'It's kind of creepy and disgusting that another village would examine my body from top to toe, just to find out about my Shoton.'_

"In other words" Kakashi continued "hunter-nin's will kill missing-nin's who have abandoned their village, and dispose of the shinobi's body, to keep the village's secrets in the village." He looked over the people in the room. They were all nodding understandingly. That is, all except Naruto, who was frowning "What is it Naruto?"

"Sensei, isn't senbon needles an odd choice of weapon for a hunter-nin? I mean, they a small and precise, but it's pretty hard to kill anyone, unless you hit exactly on some specific nerves."

Now Kakashi was frowning too "Yes, that is odd…"

"And then" Naruto continued "there's also the fact that the boy took the body with him. If a hunter-nin is supposed to erase all evidence of a shinobi, why would they take the body with them? Wouldn't it just be easier to do it where the body is? It could be because we were there, but… It just seems like something is adding up"

"You're right. All he had to bring back as proof was Zabuza's head" Kakashi said.

Sasuke, who had been silent until now, thought about everything they had been told. _'Nothing adds up. Why did the hunter-nin use senbon needles, when it's so hard to kill with, and why did he take the body, if all he needed was to take the head and burn the rest to crisps?'_ Sasuke kept thinking over what he had been told, trying to see 'Underneath the Underneath'. That's when his eyes widened "No. It can't be."

"What? What are you people talking about?" Tazuna asked, not a little bit irritated.

"Father! I'm sure they will get to it" Tsunami scolded

Kakashi looked lazily at the two civilians "Zabuza isn't dead; he is in fact very much alive"

"WHAT!?" the two civilians and the pink-haired Kunoichi were all but stunned. "What do you mean sensei? You yourself confirmed that he was dead! As in 'not alive'" Sakura screeched

Kakashi looked at Sakura "It's right, I did confirm it"

"Then how? How is he alive?" she asked

"Senbon needles" Naruto said, with a look that said _'Why didn't I think of that before?_ ' All eyes were on him now "It's because he used senbon needles. As I said, you need to be very precise when you want to make a kill with them. You have to hit the right nerves to kill, but there's also nerves that put you into a stasis which makes you appear dead. You're literally put in a near-death state until someone pulls the needles out."

"Hunter-nin's studies the structure of the human body to the extreme, many times more than the average medic" the Cyclops Jounin said "That's needed to make the kill fast and precise, and to be able to dispose of all the parts. It would be easy for them to put a person into a near-death state". He breathed deeply "I think it's safe to assume that the hunter-nin wasn't who he said he was. First, he took home the apparent corpse of Zabuza, even when it was obvious that the body was much heavier than him. Second, he used a weapon that has a low fatality rate. From these two points, it's clear that the goal of that boy wasn't to kill Zabuza, but to help him."

"Excuse me Kakashi-san, but maybe you're over thinking this a bit?" Tsunami said with a doubting look on her face

"You're quite right. I am over thinking this. But that's a shinobi's job; to look underneath the underneath. The shinobi world is filled with lies and deceptions, so you need to think of every possible result, and expect the worst. It keeps you alive. It's one of things the academy students learn first; it's the iron rule of the shinobi."

Sakura looked a little worried "Sensei, how are we supposed to prepare for this? It doesn't really look like you will be able to move for a while. And couldn't Zabuza drop in at any moment?"

Kakashi shook his head "No he won't. To be in a near-death state like he was, he won't be able to move completely for about a week. And by then I should be able to move too."

Sakura nodded "still, you we still have to prepare, and how are we going to do that, when you're cooped up in here?"

"How? Even if I can't move around too much, I can still train you. For the next week we're going to get you three prepared by training. I can probably take on Zabuza again, but you will need to keep his little friend off my hands. He can't be much older than you, but he is already that talented. We can't underestimate him."

"Wait! You can't expect us to take on another shinobi of that caliber!? We just graduated from the Academy! How are we supposed to beat another shinobi?"

"Sakura, who was it that took down the Demon Brothers? And who helped me get free when I was trapped?" she glanced over at her teammates "That's right. And don't forget yourself. You may not have fought, but you stood your guard to protect our charge. You three are growing at a rapid rate. If I train you for a week, you should have more than a chance of beating that kid."

"There's no way you can beat them" it came from a gloomy voice in the doorway. They all turned around to see a little boy, not much older than seven or eight years old "You will just die".

"Inari! Where have you been? I've missed you so much!" a loving voice sounded. Team 7 looked around, before they were shocked to find out it came from Tazuna.

Inari ran over to his grandfather and hugging him "You're home ji-chan! I've missed you too"

"Inari, They have escorted your grandpa all the way from Konoha, and they will be staying with us until the bridge have been build. They will be helping us" Tsunami scolded.

Inari looked at the foreign shinobi "Kaa-chan, they're all going to die. There's no way anyone can stand up to Gatou and live."

This caused glare's from Sakura and Naruto _'Pft, how dare he. He doesn't even know what we're capable of'_ Naruto glanced at Tazuna _'I guess being an ass runs in the family'_ he thought, remembering how Tazuna had reacted first time he saw them.

Inari started to walk away "If you don't want to die, you should go home. No one can stop Gatou". And with that said, he disappeared out the door.

Tazuna looked down the floor with a solemn look "I'm sorry for that". Team 7 was once again shocked. Not only had Tazuna spoken with love to the little brat that had insulted them, he was sad now. There was much more to Tazuna than they knew.

Kakashi waved with his hand "No problem. Now, Team, we will take today to rest from the journey. Tomorrow we will start the training"

\- Elsewhere in the middle of an unknown forest -

The young fake hunter-nin was squatting beside Zabuza's body, slowly unfolding a leather roll with various medical tools. He turned to look at Zabuza, trying to find any damage that may have been done. Other than scratches here and there, the only problem right now was the long needles in his neck. He looked analyzing in the area where he had hit him with the needles "It seems I have to cut the clothes off his mouth first, and make him cough up the blood first".

He took a scissor-like tool from the scroll, and slowly closed in on the clothes. When his hand was no more than a few centimeters from the target, Zabuza's hand shot up and grabbed the fake hunter-nin's. "I can do that on my own, thank you very much" it came from Zabuza, as he slowly opened his eyes, and began to peel the cloth wrap off.

"Oh" the boy said "You're already awake". He didn't sound surprised by a long shot

Zabuza grunted as he sat up "Geez, you're so rough" he said, as he began picking out the needles harshly.

This caused a gasp from the young boy, who frowned under the mask "I could say the same thing about you, Zabuza-san. If you keep picking those out like that, you're just going to damage a blood vessel. Then you're going to bleed out and die for real"

Zabuza didn't seem to care, as he continued to pick out the last of the needles. He sat silently for a second, before turning his gaze on the young boy "How long are you going to wear that fake mask? It's not needed here, so take it off Haku"

"Sorry, I forgot. It's been a while since I have needed to use this… "The boy said, beginning to lodge off the mask from his face." Though it did help pull off the act and fool the shinobi from Konoha. If I didn't intervene when I did, you would have been killed for sure" he finished. His mask was off. His face didn't look like a boy's face; the curves were very soft, and the skin fair. And his expression just shouted 'I couldn't hurt a fly if I wanted to', though Zabuza knew that it wasn't true.

"That may very well be, but you didn't need to attack my neck if you wanted to put me into a fake death. You're still that same wicked girl I picked up all those years ago"

Haku smiled "That may very well be true. But I couldn't help it; I didn't want to scar your beautiful body, Zabuza-san. Also, it's much easier to aim at the neck, since it has much less muscle tissue." Zabuza tried to stand up, but only made it halfway up before falling on his butt. Haku made her way over to help him "You won't be able to move for a week or so. But knowing you, that will not get in your way, Zabuza-san."

Zabuza sat still for a few more moments, catching his breath again "You're pure, clever and not tainted at all…" he paused for a moment, looking over at his student "That's what I like about you"

Haku blushed "well, I am still a child…" she looked over the area, noticing that the fog was lifting. "The fog is lifting… We should probably make our way back" Zabuza nodded affirmative as Haku paused. She turned a concerned look at him "Will you be ok next time?"

Zabuza sighed "I really don't know. I know I could take the Sharingan on one on one, but they also have a Shoton user… We have no idea what he can do. He broke my clone and water-prison with only little preparation. Given, I hadn't pumped as much chakra into it as I normally would have, but still…" He looked at Haku's concerned face "I need you to train to take him on. I don't think he will be an easy opponent – not even for your Hyoton"

Haku nodded "Anything for you, Zabuza-san." She helped him up, and they started walking towards their hideout to recuperate.

\- Later that night -

Tazuna, Tsunami and Team 7 had just eaten dinner, made by Tsunami. Inari hadn't come down. After he had said hello to his grandfather, he had been in his room 'watching the ocean' according to Tsunami.

Naruto leaned back and patted on his stomach "Ah! That was really something. Not as good as Ichiraku's ramen, but good nonetheless" he said with a pleased smile on his lips.

"Eh, thank you, I guess" Tsunami said

"You should" Sakura said, taking another bite of the fish "He rarely compares anything to ramen, not to mention Ichiraku's ramen." While they had been a team, Sakura had learned a thing or two about Naruto. He was a train-a-holic, he actually had a head on his shoulders, and he loved ramen. On more than one occasion had he called it the Gods gift to man'.

"I'm honored then" Tsunami said with a blush.

Naruto stretched his body and yawned loudly "Well, I think I'm going to hit the rack. See you all tomorrow" he said walking out the kitchen. He walked up the stairs and heading for his room when he heard something from Inari's room. Slowly he opened the door to a crack to see what was going on. Inside Inari was sitting in the window sill. He was looking out at the ocean, but that was not all. As far as Naruto could see, he was holding a picture.

Then he heard sobs from Inari, who were pressing the picture frame further into his hug. "Tou-san" it came half-smothered from Inari. Naruto was looking with compassion _'I guess he lost his father. And I'll bet a year's supply of ramen that it was Gatou who took killed him'_. Naruto closed the door quietly, making sure Inari didn't hear him, and made his way to his room.

\- The next morning -

The three Genin of Team 7 were standing in front of their sensei, which had climbed out of bed with crutches this morning. They were standing in a forest clearing not long from Tazuna's house. Tazuna had agreed to wait with continuing the bridge till the next day, so Kakashi could get his team started on the training regime.

Kakashi looked over his team. They were all looking back at him determinately, even Sakura. He took an extra look at her _'What has come over her? She normally just looks and adores Sasuke. Oh well, it can't be bad.'_ He coughed in his hand to clear his throat "Well then, let's get started. We're going to work on your chakra these next days"

Sasuke and Sakura looked disappointed, while Naruto looked indifferent. Sasuke was the first to speak "Chakra? We can already use chakra and form jutsu. Let's just get on with it"

"Yeah, I agree!" Sakura said. Naruto looked at her with an 'are you kidding me' look. She always agreed with Sasuke; she didn't have to voice it.

Kakashi shook his head "No. You may be able to use chakra, but you have far from mastered it. Now, for today's exercise we're going to…" the Genin looked at him with high expatiations "climb trees".

And once again, Sakura and Sasuke were dumbstruck. This time it was Sakura who voiced her opinion "Climb trees? How are climbing trees going to help us with our chakra control? Or help us at all for that matter?"

"Like this" Naruto said going over to a tree, only stopping for a second to concentrate his chakra, before stepping onto the wood and beginning to walk vertically up the tree.

Kakashi nodded "That's right. I see you've already mastered it. Care to explain to your teammates what you're doing?"

Sasuke were glaring at Naruto _'How much ahead of me have you come since the academy? What am I talking about; he isn't ahead of me. He just knows an exercise that I don't. He can't be ahead of me. He is a clan less loser, and I'm the heir to the strongest clan in Konoha. Yeah, that's right.'_

Naruto shrugged "It's pretty easy when you get the hang of it" he said walking up below a branch, and hanged with his head down, proving his point. "All you need to do is mold and concentrate your chakra below your feet, creating a suction effect to keep you on the surface you want to climb. But you really should watch out; if you build up too much chakra in your feet, it's just going to blast you off. And if you do the opposite, not building up enough, you won't get the suctions effect, and you will just fall off."

"Very good Naruto. As to why this is going to help you in the long run: Sakura, when you fight an opponent, what is one of the most basic skills a ninja uses?" Kakashi looked at the pink-head

"Erm, I guess Ninjutsu?" Sakura answered tentatively

"That's right. And what do you need to use Ninjutsu?" Kakashi continued

"Chakra" the girl answered, realization covering her face

"Right again. So by doing this exercise, your chakra control, and therefore your chakra utilization skills, will improve, and you will be able to use more Ninjutsu" the Jounin finished the explanation. He looked at the two grounded Genin to see if they had understood. Sasuke looked pissed, Kakashi thinking it was highly likely because of Naruto. Which caused him to look at said member of Team 7 and sweat dropped _'Now you're just showing off'._ Naruto was currently swinging back and forth whistling, only connected to the tree by one foot. Kakashi cleared his throat, getting the attention "Meh, Naruto, mind coming down now?"

Naruto grinned, releasing the chakra in his foot, causing him to fall to the ground at high speed. Sakura gasped, but it really wasn't needed; Naruto simply flipped half way down, landing with a quiet 'thud' on the ground. "No problem" he said, still holding the same grin "So does that mean I can go on ahead with my own training?" Naruto hadn't had a chance to really train the last few days, for obvious reasons. He wanted to progress that water balloon exercise, and he also had to do practice some in his calligraphy. He had never thought that it would be a big part of his shinobi career to write, at least not until he became the Hokage, other than the mission reports here and there, and he never imagine to take it to such a high level. But if he wanted to get better at Fūinjutsu, he needed to learn to write fast and precise, else all his knowledge about seals would be for nothing. And maybe he could also get started on that water walking exercise. He had wanted to start on that for ages, who wouldn't want to walk on water?, but had waited till he was advanced enough in the tree-climbing. Finally when he was, they had gotten this mission, so he hadn't gotten started yet. And then there was the matter of keeping his training method a secret. Naruto gulped _'Sandaime-Jiji told me that he would have me get all the missions involving Tora until I took over the Hokage-hat myself, if I ever exposed it to someone not meant to see it.'._

The silver-haired Jounin glanced over his blond student before shrugging "I guess it won't be a problem. But since you already know the three-climbing, and has mastered as far as I can see, I will assign you to guard duty tomorrow"

Naruto's eyes narrowed "You're just assigning me to guard duty so that you can stay in bed all day and read ero-sennin's perverted books, aren't you"

Kakashi waved his hand in a dismissive motion, laughing nervously "now, where would you have gotten that idea? Off to train you go" he finished, hoping that the prospect of training was more exciting than exposing him as a pervert for the rest of the team. Naruto stood still for a few more moments, before sighing in a defeated manner, and ran into the forest to find a clearing he could use for training.

As soon as Naruto was away, Kakashi turned to the remainder of his team, and started them on their training.

\- Next morning at the bridge -

Naruto was sitting on the railing of the bridge, taking a break from his water balloon, was looking over the bridge. It had been a slow day really. Tazuna had told him to get up around 4am, as they were needed at the bridge at 5. Naruto, not wanting to miss out on any training, had made a clone with three quarters of his chakra, and sent it to the forest clearing he had trained in yesterday. It had chakra to about seventy clones, but he was only making thirty or so. The reason being that they were on a mission, where they could engage in battle against foreign shinobi at any moment, so it wouldn't do that he was totally exhausted if that happened.

They had been the first to arrive, with twenty or so workers slowly filing in as the time got closer and closer to 6am. As they were about to start, one of the workers had asked were the shinobi guarding them were, to which Tazuna had pointed on Naruto. This caused disgruntled looks from almost all the workers, and a one even had the nerve of calling him a short brat. Tazuna had smirked, since he had come to know Naruto just a little bid the past few days. And as he had though, Naruto had showed the worker what he could do, almost fully surrounding him with crystal, before three razor-sharp blades had shot out, and were inches from slicing him. This, of course, had closed the mouth of any and all the workers, who quickly went to work, not wanting to get on the bad side of their guard.

Naruto sighed. He was developing a little temper when it came to his height. He looked down beside him; there were broken water balloons. Not shattered at all, they were just punctured, but he was happy; it was progress. He had made the breakthrough yesterday when one of his clones had sat down and analyzed what they had seen Jiraiya do a couple of days earlier, and had realized that what they were doing looked completely different. That's when he had gotten the idea to swirl the water in more than one direction. It had been a success, but it was still damn hard.

"Oi gaki, are you bored or what?" Tazuna's voice sounded, bringing Naruto back to the bridge

"Huh? No, not really. I was just taking a break from my training" Naruto answered, leaning back with closed and enjoying the sun on his face.

Tazuna frowned "Training? You're just playing with water balloons"

Naruto chuckled internally. He had figured that the way Tazuna showed curiosity were by insulting. When talking to strangers anyway. Naruto shook his head to answer Tazuna, and made eye contact with him "It's a bit harder than that. I have to burst it open with nothing but my chakra. It's a lot harder than it looks you know"

"I don't kno-"

"May I have a word with you Tazuna?" a voice from behind them interrupted.

Both of them looked at the newcomer. Tazuna put down the little log he had been carrying "Sure thing Giichi. Is something wrong?"

"Well… I have thought a lot about it, and I think I'm going to quit building the bridge" Giichi said, looking down on the ground as if ashamed, not going unnoticed by Naruto.

"W-what!? Not you too Giichi… Why the sudden change of mind?" Tazuna asked surprised, and a little outraged

"Tazuna, I have known you for a long time, and you have become a good friend. I want to help, but if I get much more involved in this, Gatou will after me when he's done with you. I have to think on the wife and the kids you know…" Giichi replied. Naruto could see that he was really split in this decision, but he had finally valued his family more. Naruto couldn't blame him; it was something Naruto longed after. He longed after getting a father and mother, or just knowing who they were. Naruto respected the man's decision. Tazuna didn't look that convinced. Giichi continued "I want to build the bridge and save Nami as much as the next islander, but everything will lose meaning if you die."

Naruto cocked an eyebrow _'So he is also concerned for his old friend? I like that guy'_.

Giichi almost looked pleadingly at Tazuna "Why don't we stop building the bridge?"

Naruto was, to say the least, shocked. He hadn't expected the man to suggest that, not after all he had learned Tazuna had done for it to be built, including lying his ass off to the Hokage, one of the mightiest persons on the elemental continents. Tazuna had regained his calm look, and answered just as calm "You know I can't do that. This bridge is our bridge. Not just yours or mine, or the workers bridge, but the bridge of all the islanders of Nami no Kuni. This is the bridge, build on the hopes of the people, the hope that we can break free from Gatou's rule, that we can increase our distribution and transportation that will increase the wealth in this poor country. "

"But if we die…"

"If we die" Tazuna interrupted "people will know that Tazuna the bridge builder died for what he believed in. That he died in the hopes that someone would take over his work. That he died believing that Nami no Kuni will break free from Gatou, if not by his own hands, then by the hands of his successor." He put a hand on his old friends shoulder "I can't ask you to do it, but I will continue to build this bridge until my dying breath. I don't blame you if you don't want to risk your family… You can go home if you want."

Giichi looked sad at his old friend, before giving up convincing him with a sigh. He took off his uniform and the tools he had used, and gave it to Tazuna "I'm sorry old friend". And with that he left the bridge.

Tazuna stood there for a while, just staring at where his old friend had left. He didn't even hear the steps behind him, and only noticed the person when he took the uniform and tools of his hands. He turned around to see his blond guard putting on the uniform. He gave the kid a questioning look "I thought you said you shouldn't overwork yourself?"

Naruto grinned back at the old man "How can I sit still and not help after you gave that speech. You have gotten a little more respect in my eyes, Ojisan - but only a little".

Tazuna grinned back at the kid. He had come to like him; he was lively and didn't give up. "Thanks kid, I'm sure it will help. I just hope there are no more workers who quit just now. We're almost done with the bridge, one and a half to two weeks more… But, just like Giichi, people won't risk their families."

"I guess" Naruto said, bringing up his hand to form a very familiar hand sign "I will have to help a bit more. _Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_!" Twenty additional Naruto's appeared, effectively doubling the workforce at the bridge. It didn't take long for them to spread out on the bridge, and help where he could. His lively spirit also affected Tazuna, who only was that more, determined to finish the bridge.

\- Same afternoon at the market -

Tazuna and Naruto were walking down the main street of the biggest town in the area. In all honesty, it didn't deserve the name town or road. It was a long dust trail, where shacks and cracked stone buildings stood along the sides. The people didn't look much better: they were all walking around very carefully, afraid that their life could be stolen at a seconds notice. They wore clothes, if you could call it that, which looked to be made up of sacks and mold infested cloth. The worst were the children; they were at every corner and store opening, begging to just get the tiniest attention and food. It reminded him of the year after he was kicked out of the orphanage, before he had gotten the apartment he was living in now. He shuttered a bit "What is the meaning of this?"

Tazuna didn't have to look to know what he was talking about "Nami no Kuni have been like this since Gatou took over…"

"That man can't be anyone but the devil" Naruto said angrily "I will definitely ki-". Naruto was interrupted when he felt hands go through his ninja bag. Whoever did it had chosen the absolute worst time to do it. Naruto swirled around to see a middle aged man. As soon as he caught a glimpse of Naruto's eye, he was scared out of his pants, and tried to run away. But Naruto was angry and he had to take it out on somebody. He grabbed the shirt of the man "You do NOT steal from me! Thief!" and threw the man down the street, where he continued skirting, before he was stopped abruptly by a brick wall. Naruto scoffed and continued after Tazuna, who had walked into a store to look for ingredients for tonight's meal.

He wasn't happy with what he saw. It was the same as the street and the town; the shelves where close to empty, with only a few foodstuff scattered here and there. And they didn't look fresh, quite the opposite. Naruto sighed and became only more determined to see that this country was set free from Gatou, and that said man was burned in the deepest pits of hell for what he had done.

He continued after Tazuna, who continued out of the store after paying overprizes on the scarcely collected wares. They hadn't walked more than a few meters before Naruto felt tucking in his bag again. _'Not again!'_ he thought as he swirled around, planning to chew out whoever was stupid enough to try and steal from him. He stopped in his tracks as he saw who was standing in front of him: a little girl who couldn't have been more than eight years old. "Please, give me" she said, holding her hands out. Naruto blinked a couple of times, before going through his bag and found a few pieces of candy. The girl's eyes lit up with joy.

She was just about to run off when Naruto stopped her with a smile, squatting down to her level "Hey, what is your name"

The girl blushed slightly "Amaya"

Naruto kept smiling "Hey Amaya. My name is Naruto. Want to see something cool?" he asked, which in response got a tentatively nod. He closed his hand together, activating his Shoton powers, making it glow slightly out of the cracks. When he opened it a miniature figure of a puppy was standing on his hands. The girl went wide-eyed. Naruto just kept smiling and handed the figurine to the girl "here, you take it. It's a lucky charm. As long as you have it, good things will happen to you. Just believe in it"

She reached out and took the dog, inspecting it all over. She looked back at the blond with tears in her eyes. She bowed deeply "Arigato Naruto-Niisan!" she cried out, before hugging him deeply. Naruto was taken by surprise, but quickly returned the hug. When they were done she looked at him with big puppy eyes "Will you be back? So you can meet all my friends?"

"I'm sure I will. Just keep an eye out for me" Naruto said with his kind smile on the lips. She nodded, and ran into the crowd, surely to find a show her friends her new toy.

"That was very kind of you" Tazuna noted

"Yeah… They remind me of myself when I was little" Naruto responded, before starting to head out of the town. It peaked Tazuna curiosity, but he could see he wouldn't get more of an answer for now.

\- Evening at Tazuna's house -

When Sasuke and Sakura came back to Tazuna's house that evening, they looked extremely exhausted. Naruto raised an eyebrow _'It seems Sakura is actually trying. I'm glad she actually listened to me'_. Naruto smirked at Sasuke "Worked hard, eh teme?"

Sasuke scoffed at him, not having the strength to come with a longer answer.

Sakura was just about to come to the defense of her beloved Sasuke-kun, when Tsunami's voice sounded from the living room "Dinner is ready! Come and eat!"

The Konoha Genin didn't need any more to be said, as they ran as fast as their bodies could carry them to the dinner table. It wasn't a gourmet meal, but it was not bad either at all. They all took their places, broke off the eating chops "itadakimasu!" and began eating like wolves, Sakura eating like a fine wolf.

After dinner when they had some tea, Sakura was looking around the kitchen and found a picture hanging on the wall. It showed Inari, Tsunami and Tazuna, and one other person it seemed like. But he was ripped out of it. "Ano, why are you hanging a torn picture?" it brought all the attention of all the shinobi to the mentioned picture. "Inari-kun was watching this during the dinner the entire time. This torn part looks like someone intentionally tore away the person who was there" she continued. It silenced the whole room.

Finally Tsunami, who was doing the dishes, spoke up "It's my husband". The shinobi waited for her to continue, not satisfied with the answer, but she didn't.

Tazuna spoke up "He was the man known as the hero of this town".

He didn't get to say more before Inari left his seat, walking towards the door. "Inari, where are you going?" Tsunami asked, but he had already left.

She walked after him, and when she opened the door, she turned around looking at Tazuna "Father, I told you not to talk about him in front of Inari!" she said a little harshly, before she to exited the door.

Tazuna sighed deeply. Team 7 was watching him closely. He looked around on them all "Inari had a father he wasn't related to. They were very close, like a real father and son. They were a real father and son."

He looked back up at the picture, seeing a laughing Inari in the middle. "Inari used to laugh a lot back then. But…" Tazuna began to sob lightly, shocking the shinobi. They had the impression of Tazuna of man who didn't really show any vulnerable feelings. Well, everyone but Naruto who had learned some about their client on the bridge. Tazuna bit back some tears "He changed after what happened to his father. His name was Kaiza."

Tazuna paused again "The word "courage" was forever taken away from the people of this island and Inari after that day". Tazuna went on about explaining how Inari and Kaiza had met. How he had taught him about living his life so he didn't regret a thing. He then went about telling them how a big storm had hit the island, breaking the dam, and how Kaiza had saved them all.

Then his voice turned into venom, as he spoke of how Gatou had taken over the island, and how Kaiza didn't want to back down. How he was executed in front of the whole town to set an example and that after that day, Inari was changed. He didn't believe in heroes and courage. He was depressed and cried alone in his room.

After he finished, the whole room was quiet. Team 7 had troubled looks on their faces.

"How horrible…" it came quiet from Sakura. The others nodded in agreement.

Tazuna then looked up at them all with a determined look in his eyes "And that's why I want to build that bridge. For the people of wave, for Kaiza and for Inari. I want to break us free from the rule of Gatou. I want Inari to be happy again".

That determination was also brought up in the shinobi. "And we will help you achieve it. We won't let Gatou lay a hand on you. Count on it!" Naruto declared.

Sasuke smirked "You count on it. I'm not going to be outdone by you, dobe"

"Hai, we can't let the people of wave suffer anymore" Sakura said.

Kakashi took a look on the clock "Guys, I think it's about time to hit the racks. We still have to train you guys hard the next few days to get you ready. You don't want to let Tazuna down, do you?" None of the Genin did, and quickly made their way to bed.

The next few days didn't go very different. Kakashi came and helped guard Tazuna, and in the meantime had handed over a jutsu scroll on Fūton: Reppusho. He had said it would work well with his Rokkaku Shuriken, and Naruto wasn't one to deny his sensei. Naruto was also making progress on the water balloon exercise, now progressed to the rubber ball exercise. It had taken time to finish the first part of the exercise, only finally completing it when Kakashi had said he had spun it against his natural flow. After that, it had gone easy. But this next step took so much more power, that he hadn't even punctured the ball.

Sakura and Sasuke were also progressing, both now able to walk up and down the tree without faltering, and just starting to learn to stay still on the surface. It was going slowly but surely.

As for the bridge? It had gone faster with Naruto's clones helping, but more and more workers had quit, and only seven of them remained now, most of them already having lost their families to Gatou. They didn't have anything to lose.

Naruto had also been back to see Amaya and her friends, telling them stories, and of course, making more 'pretty lucky charms' as they called them. Naruto was starting to grow attached to the children, especially when they all called him 'Naruto-Niisan'. It was at least one thing he was going to miss in Nami.

\- At Tazuna's house, two evenings before Zabuza's return -

When they came back that evening, the Genin were rather battered up, even Naruto who had been working hard on the rubber ball, and were delighted when they saw another homemade meal was waiting for them. They ate as much as they could to recharge their energy, so they could give it all the next day.

Tazuna stopped eating and looked up at Kakashi "The Bridge is almost complete. It's thanks to you guys".

The old drunk's daughter looked up from her meal "But don't push yourself so much." The Genin just smiled.

Tazuna continued "I wanted to ask this before, but why are you still here even when I lied about the request details?"

Kakashi folded his hands and closed his eyes. "Not doing right when you know it is right is a coward's way. There are no weak soldiers under a valiant commander. They're the teachings of the Yondaime Hokage, our previous Hokage."

That's when Inari spoke up "why…" it caught all the Genin attention. Inari stood up, and slammed his hand down in the table "Why are you trying so hard to end up dead? You can't beat Gatou's men, even if you train! No matter how hard you try and say those good-looking words… Weak people are going to lose against strong people!"

Naruto glared at that "Shut up. You don't know the first thing about us!" That silenced Inari who were on the verge of tears.

"Here you are, living a relatively good life! You have mother that loves and cooks for you, and a grandfather who tries to save this country. And what do you do? You cry, and mope about how bad it is! You don't realize how good you have it compared to other people! Have you seen how the children in the town live? And for that matter, you don't know what it's like to be hated in your own village for something that is out of your control. You don't know what it's like to be beaten and kicked out of shops and forced to go through the garbage for food. You think your life is bad fine, but don't just sit around and moan about it do something about it fight back, don't be a coward!" Inari visibly shook as Naruto glared heated at him.

Naruto rose from the table and headed for the door. Sakura went on alert there "Naruto! Where are you going?"

"Out to train" Naruto all but mumbled. And with that Naruto stormed out the front door with tears in his eyes. Inari stormed out the other side of the house, out the backdoor.

The civilians and the Genin of Team 7 were shocked of what Naruto had said. "Kakashi-sensei, Naruto's life couldn't have been that bad right? He has to be lying to get attention" Sakura asked.

Kakashi shook his head "No. Everything he said was true. Naruto was kicked out of the orphanage when he was 4 years old, and was forced to living on the streets for twelve months before some ANBU found him and took him to the Hokage. The Sandaime gave Naruto an apartment, but he has had to learn everything for himself, and was constantly being beaten and kicked out of stores. And that's the down watered version" he said, shocking everyone in the room.

Tazuna looked down on his half empty plate _'So that's what he meant by that they reminded him of himself as a child. It seems to me that they got a good life compared to what he had to live through…'_

\- Later that night at the docks outside the house -

Inari was sitting on the edge of the docks, looking out over the ocean. He could see the bridge his grandfather was trying to build. He heard footsteps behind him, but didn't bother to see who it was.

"May I join you?" a male voice sounded. Inari guessed it was the Konoha Jounin who had arrived a few days earlier. He shrugged.

Kakashi walked over to Inari and sat beside him "Naruto didn't say those things out of spite, you know." Inari didn't react, but he continued anyway. "He is just stubborn" still no reaction. He looked over the ocean "We heard about your father from Tazuna-san. Naruto is the same as you in that way, he didn't have a father when he was young. To be truthful, he doesn't know what it feels like to have parents. He also didn't have a single friend growing up." That caught Inari's attention. He looked up on the Jounin as he continued "However, I have never seen him grow timid, get sulky, or cry. He has always been desperate to make people recognize him." He now looked down on Inari with what Inari could only guess was a smile on his lips "And he's able to put his life on the line for that dream. He's probably bored of crying by now."

That got Inari thinking, remembering what his father was like. "That's why he knows the true meaning of being strong. Just like your father. Naruto might be the one who understand you the most. What Naruto said to you before… Those are probably the words he's been telling himself over and over again."

Kakashi rose from where he had sat. "If anything, just don't hold a grudge against him. He wasn't trying to be mean" and with that said, he went back to the house leaving Inari to think about what he had heard.

\- The following morning in the forest -

"Are you ok? Hello? Are you there?"

Naruto's eyes slammed open, surprising the person who had tried to wake him up. Quickly reacting he jumped up into his Taijutsu stance, but relaxed upon seeing that it was an ordinary teenage girl looking at him. He looked around him, finding himself in the same clearing they had been training in the last few days I must have fallen asleep out here.

Haku took a better look at the now obvious ninja in front of her. She noticed his Konoha Hitai-ate He was with Sharingan Kakashi the other day. He must be the one with Shoton… She didn't show her worry, but simply smiled at him "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to surprise you."

Naruto smiled back at her "Ah, no problem. I didn't mean to jump like that; reflexes you know."

She nodded at that "Is that hitai-ate real? Are you a real shinobi?" she asked, completing her act as an unknowing civilian

He grinned back at that, pushing his chest up "Yes! I am a shinobi of Konoha! I will protect her with my life" The girl giggled at the way Naruto was acting. Naruto looked at her again "By the way, what are you doing out here so early?"

"Picking herbs" she answered nicely, as she turned away, resuming looking through the plants on the ground.

"Herbs?" Naruto asked.

She turned her head and smiled at him "That's right. It's to cure injuries and illness. One of my friends has gotten hurt, so I'm out here looking for herbs to cure him."

"I can help you. I still have some time before I have to be back to breakfast" he said, helping her going through the plants. He had gotten a bit of knowledge of herbs from his reading, but it really hadn't been anything he had read up on.

They picked through the plants for a while, then the girl spoke up again "By the way, what are you doing out here so early?"

He threw her one of his big smiles "Training!"

"And why are you training?"

"I want to become stronger!"

"But you look strong enough already"

"No, I want to become stronger and stronger."

She was silent for a time, resuming picking through the forest-floor. "Are you doing it for someone else..? Or for yourself?"

"Well… I think when I just graduated I was doing it for myself. But then Iruka-sensei acknowledged me. And so did Kakashi-sensei, and Sakura-chan, and… I guess Sasuke-teme did too" he paused. "I think now I'm doing it just as much for them, as I'm doing it for myself."

She looked up at him "That's good. I believe a person is able to become truly strong, when they wish to protect someone they cherish."

Naruto got a thoughtful look in his eyes. "I think you're right. I understand that."

She nodded at him. She took her basket, now filled with herbs. "Thank you… I think you will become strong". She began walking out of the clearing "By the way, I'm a boy" she said, walking away, leaving Naruto stunned but he is beautiful! She can't be a boy.

"You're lying" he said before he could stop himself.

"I…. I…" she stammered. She sighed "Yes I am…"

"Why would you lie about something like that?"

"Because of Gatou. His men aren't always… polite"

Naruto was disgusted by that "Don't worry. I won't tell anyone"

She smiled back at him "Goodbye". I really hope I don't have to fight you when the time comes.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Hyoton – Frost Release: The Kekkai Genkai of the Yuki Clan

Fūton: Reppusho – Wind Release: Gale Palm: A simple technique that when the users hands are clapped together, wind is compressed and transformed into a powerful gale. This technique, when used as an isolated attack has the power to easily knock over a human. Though the true value comes from using it together with projectile weapons like shuriken or kunai. Their speed, power, and ability to wound or even kill are all increased several times.


	6. Battle of the bridge

**Chapter 6: Battle of the Bridge! Shoton vs. Hyoton!**

Naruto yawned loudly and stretched his arms above his head. He rubbed his eyes and gazed around in the room. Sasuke and Sakura were still asleep. It didn't come to a surprise, as the whole week he had woken before them. He was used to get up early to train, and to get through the village as early as possible when fewer people were on the streets. He shook the thoughts from his head and sneaked out of the room, heading for the bathroom.

While he was doing his business, he took a look out of the window; he could see the first rays of the sun touch the horizon in the distance. One thing he loved and hated about Nami no Kuni was the flat land and ocean. You could see for miles and miles without anything disturbing your view; he loved that he could see the sunrise so early, since in Konoha you would have to wait at least a few hours for the sun to raise above the small mountains and the forest of Hi no Kuni. But then again, he hated it because you could see so long. One part of being shinobi is hiding in the shadows, and being from Konoha where the forest is everywhere, he almost felt exposed. He breathed in deeply, and went on to brushing his teeth. He looked at his reflection in the little mirror hanging on the wall and took a deep breath. _'So, it's today huh?'_ he asked no one in particular _'Today is probably the day Zabuza will return, and it's highly likely that he will have that fake hunter-nin with him… I have no chance of defeating Zabuza, so I must keep his companion occupied. I have to protect my friends! But… it stills scares me. Today I am going to fight another shinobi. I may have to kill…'_ Naruto turned on the water and splashed water in his face _'I am doing it for my comrades. If I have to kill, then I will do it to save them, I will do it for them, so they can live.'_

When Naruto was done, he made his way down to the kitchen. He was surprised to see Tsunami already up and cooking. He glanced at the clock, and as he thought, it was 6.13a.m. He sat down at the table "Good morning Tsunami-san".

Tsunami almost jumped two feet in the air and spun around with a knife in her hand. Her stance relaxed as she saw who it was "Oh, it's just you Naruto-kun. Sorry for that, but I didn't expect anyone up yet".

Naruto smiled awkwardly while scratching the back of his head "Sorry about that. Normally I'm out training in the morning, but since today is… Since it's possible I might be needed today, I'm not going."

Tsunami smiled at him and resumed cooking. Naruto walked over to the sink and took a glass of water and walked out to the pier to sit and watch the sunrise. He couldn't see much more because of the thick morning fog in the distance. That was one of the reasons they didn't go the bridge earlier. Zabuza could by himself already summon up a lot of fog, so they didn't even want to try him out when he had the natural occurring fog on his side too.

"Oh Naruto, are you already up?" Kakashi's voice came from behind him.

He glanced over his shoulder to see the silver haired Jounin reading his book. "Yeah, couldn't sleep anymore. I have woken up this early for as long as I can remember. Now it's training, before it was… to get away before the village awoke"

Kakashi walked over beside Naruto and squad down beside him "I haven't really seen you around since the evening before yesterday. When I left for the bridge yesterday you hadn't come back"

"Sorry about that" Naruto said, still looking out over the ocean "I needed time to think"

"And now?"

"Still thinking… Kakashi-sensei. Do you know why he chose me?"

Kakashi knew what Naruto was asking. Why had the Yondaime chosen him over so many other children? _'I can't exactly say "Don't worry Naruto, it was because he was your farther". It's not my place to reveal it... As much as I should being Sensei's student.'_ He pondered for a few more seconds "Naruto, you bear a burden not many others can understand or even start to comprehend. You have been through much that no child should have been through. But you have survived. I believe the Yondaime chose you for a reason that he believes in you. You are the Yondaime's legacy. And you live up to his name. As far as I know, you haven't let him down so far, have you? You still keep that beast under control"

Naruto nodded. It wasn't yet the final answer, but it would suffice for now. Kakashi rose from beside Naruto "Well, let's get inside. Wouldn't be any good if you got sick"

Naruto scoffed "Kakashi-sensei, I have never been sick. Sure, I have had broken bones and so on, but I have never been sick, and I'm sure you know why". Nonetheless Naruto got up and got inside.

\- Three hours later -

Kakashi looked up from his book and around on the people at the table. Sasuke and Sakura had gotten down to the kitchen about an hour ago, and Tazuna and Inari came down about twenty minutes ago. There hadn't been much talk; everyone knew what was likely to happen today. He closed his book and cleared his throat, getting everyone's attention "We all know what is going to happen today, but we haven't really talked about how to execute this. We of course need people around you Tazuna-san, but we also need to protect your family, namely you, Inari-san and Tsunami-san. Since you can't go to the bridge for obvious reasons, we need to leave someone behind to take guard you"

Tazuna and his family had rather worried looks on their faces, but relaxed some when they saw the determined expressions of Team 7, especially that of Naruto. He looked straight back at Kakashi _'I have to make this mission a success. This isn't about my first mission being a success anymore, it's about freeing the people of Nami no Kuni, freeing Tazuna and his family, and freeing Amaya and her friends. I can't fail all of them'_. Naruto pondered about what Kakashi had said before speaking up "Kakashi-sensei, I think I got an idea. I should stay behind to guard Tsunami-san and Inari"

Tazuna nodded satisfied. He knew that if Naruto was guarding his family, they were in safe hands. The blond brat had earned his respect from Tazuna. Kakashi raised an eyebrow "I see. What makes you come to that conclusion?"

"Well, I was thinking that I would stay here with them, and send a Kage Bunshin with you guys. That way we have a way of communicating with each other; I can keep you updated if anything is to happen here, and you can call for me if it should come to that"

"Wait, what?" All looks turned to Sasuke "Dobe, how are we supposed to keep contact with just a Kage Bunshin?"

The blond Genin smirked at his comrade "That's easy. When a Kage Bunshin is dispelled, no matter the way it is dispelled, the knowledge it has gained will return to the user and any other clones the user should have made. So if I want to send a message to you guys, I just make a clone and make it dispel. The same if my clone wants to send a message to me, it can either make another clone or dispel it, or it can dispel itself. And if it comes to it getting dispelled by getting destroyed, then I'll also know."

Before Sasuke could question again, it was Kakashi who spoke up "Very well Naruto, it's a plan I can accept. So Sasuke, Sakura and I, with a Kage Bunshin of Naruto, will guard Tazuna-san on the bridge, while Naruto will stay here and guard Tsunami-san and Inari-san. If anything happens on the bridge or here, we will let the respective part know by sending a message through the Kage Bunshin." Team 7 nodded showing they understood. "Good then, we leave in fifteen minutes, so you better get ready. We should get to the bridge around 10a.m." Sasuke and Sakura rose from the table and went upstairs to get their gear ready, while Tazuna seemed to speed up eating.

Naruto sat at the kitchen table reading his book on Fūinjutsu, Tsunami was currently washing the dishes from the breakfast, and Inari was sitting beside Naruto looking really bored. Kakashi, Sakura and Sasuke had left with Tazuna some half hour ago, so they should be at the bridge in ten to fifteen minutes. Naruto didn't let it show, but he was actually worried about them. He would have liked to have gone with them to the bridge, but this was the best way for them to keep contact. And if it came to it, he could be at the bridge in ten minutes. The only reason it was taking so long with the rest of his team, was because they had to go at a civilian pace. If they were going at a normal pace, well normal for a Genin team, they could probably be in Konoha in a day, instead of the four days it takes at civilian pace.

He was brought out of his attention when Inari spoke "Say, Naruto-nii chan, how again can you know if anyone is coming?"

Naruto didn't know when Inari had started calling him 'nii chan', but he liked it, the same with the kids in town. He looked up from his book "It's rather simple really. You heard what I said about Kage Bunshin at breakfast, right?" Inari nodded "Good, by the way, please keep it a secret. It's one of Konoha's Kinjutsu's. While none of the other villages can copy it, they can take precaution if they know some of its secrets."

"Sure thing. I won't tell anybody" Inari said smiling.

Naruto ruffled the boy's hair, much too said boy's dismay. Naruto laughed lightly at that "Good then. Anyway, back on topic, I have placed about twenty clones around the house, hidden of course, so if they see anyone who shouldn't be here, they dispel and I will know."

"That's so cool!" Inari exclaimed. Naruto nodded at him before getting back to reading. He heard a sigh from Inari "Can't you do something else? You know, it's rather boring just to wait around. And it's not like I can go outside and play!"

Naruto smiled again. He remembered himself being that impatient, and wanting stuff to happen all the time "Okay then Inari, what do yo-". He stopped midsentence when he got a feedback from one of his clones around the house. Two objects was moving towards the house at a fast pace. The clone hadn't gotten a good look at them.

"Nii chan, what's the matter?" Inari asked a little worried. Tsunami had also seen this, and had stopped doing the dishes.

"Both of you go upstairs and hide." They looked at him without moving "Now!" Naruto said with a voice that said they left no room for argument. Tsunami went over to Inari, took him by the hand, and headed upstairs to hide.

When they had disappeared up the stairs, Naruto sat down again and took his book up. It didn't take long for the two figures to make it to the house and burst in through the door.

"Hey, where the hell are they!?" one voice asked rather loudly

"How should I know? Oi, there's a kid here. I bet you know where they are, eh?"

Naruto finally looked up from his book; he took a look at the intruders. There were two, as he had known. One of them had a blue sweat-like shirt, wore a hood, and had tattoos and his eyes. The other had a bare chest. His right arm had a tattoo going up from his arm to the middle of his chest, and he wore an eye patch on his right eye. Above his left he had a scar. They both wore a katana at their waist. Just from looking by the way they were standing he could tell they weren't shinobi, they were simple thugs hired to do the easy work

"Do you two mind? I'm trying to read here" Naruto said half bored, trying to get them to lose their cool. It worked.

"What the hell!? Who do you think you are brat!?" the one wearing a hood yelled

"Calm down! Can't you see he is trying to get you to lose your cool? You're quite an idiot you know" the bare-chested said.

"What did you say? I'm not-"

"Let's just get this over with. Kid, where is the woman and the child?" the bare-chested asked looking at Naruto. He got a sweat drop when he saw Naruto had gone back to reading, apparently not giving them any attention at all. "Hey brat! I asked you something"

Naruto sighed deeply "As you said, let's just get this over with". Naruto got up, putting his book away and got into his stance, creating two crystal tanto in the process.

The two thugs hesitated a bit after seeing their opponent creating crystal out of nothing. It didn't last long as the bare-chested charged head first with his companion right after him. Naruto didn't go out of his academy stance, and he easily dodged the first punch from the bare-chested. As soon as he had squatted the other came with a kick which he simply blocked. This was child play compared to the training he had undergone. He grabbed the leg in front of him and quickly twisted it, making the hood wearing thug spin and fall. The bare-chested saw this as an opportunity and clapped his hands together in a fist and brought them hard down on Naruto's head. Instead of the crack he was expecting to hear, he heard nothing. Naruto had grabbed his right wrist, and wasn't letting go. Naruto looked with a smirk at his opponent, as he tightened and twisted his grip, resulting in a nauseous crack. Naruto's opponent cried out in pain, and retracted his hand as soon as Naruto let go.

The hood wearing thug got up, and together with his companion, they stepped a few steps back, looking at the blond brat in front of them, who had fended them off without breaking a sweat. Naruto got up from his squat, and simply dusted his pants off "Now, I think we have played long enough". Behind the two thugs, a vase and a chair transformed into two more Naruto's, who quickly thickened their crystal armor in their hands and hit the thugs in their heads. They went out as soon as they had been hit. Naruto shook his head with a smile _'Did Gatou really think he could kidnap Tazuna's family with thugs? He should know about us.'_ He nodded to his two clones, making them dispel, effectively passing what had happened here to his clone on the bridge.

He tied the two thugs up and went upstairs to find Tsunami and Inari hiding in a closet. Tsunami looked worried at him "Is it safe?"

Naruto showed her a reassuring smile "Yeah its safe. Gatou only send two thugs. As if they could take a shinobi down"

Inari grinned "of course! No one can take you down Naruto-nii chan"

"Now that isn't true" Naruto laughed "There's lot of-". Naruto stopped as he got feedback from a clone. It was the one he had send with the rest of his team. They were in trouble.

' _Sakura-Chan…'_

\- A few minutes earlier with remainder of Team 7 -

Meanwhile Kakashi's group had made their way to the bridge. They couldn't believe the sight that met them; every worker was lying either dead or dying.

Tazuna stared in disbelief "W-what is this!?" he looked over the workers "What's wrong? What happened?"

Kakashi was showing no sign of emotion as he looked over the bridge _'Just as we thought. He has returned.'_ Mist began to fill the bridge, confirming what he thought. "Team, he's coming! Protect Tazuna-san!" They all quickly took their positions, going into defensive poses.

"Kakashi-sensei, this is his Kirigakure no Jutsu, isn't it?" Sakura asked, but got no answer. They were all waiting for Zabuza to show himself.

They all heard a familiar malicious chuckled "Sorry to keep you waiting, Kakashi. And you're still carrying those kids" Zabuza voice echoed in the fog, as Sasuke began to tremble- "He's shaking again, how pitiful" Zabuza mocked. Within a second of that remark, the group was surrounded by seven water clones.

Sasuke smirked "I'm shaking with excitement".

Naruto's Kage Bunshin sighed "It's just like you to play the cool act. Let's go Sasuke." One of the Water Clones was about to swipe with his sword when Naruto and Sasuke went for it. With a blur of speed, they ran around to the different clones and swiped them with their kunai. A second later they all burst into water. As soon as they were done the clone got the information from the clones at the house. He didn't take his eyes off Zabuza as he spoke to his team "Gatou sent two thugs to kidnap Tsunami and Inari as we thought he would. Boss took care of them rather easily, and they're safe now. He plans on taking them somewhere else, probably to Giichi's house or something."

Kakashi nodded "I think it would be best for you to dispel and tell Naruto to hurry and come here. I have a feeling we're going to need him." Naruto's clone nodded and dispelled.

From across the bridge Zabuza raised his eyebrow "So he was a clone? Haku, watch out, he can come from anywhere and at any time. I know you have trained a lot this week for this fight against his Shoton, but don't let your guard down. It only takes one slip to give the enemy the upper hand"

"Of course Zabuza-san" Haku said with an emotionless voice. Nothing like what she normally talked like.

Kakashi looked over his team. "Sakura, get close and protect Tazuna, Sasuke you will have to keep Zabuza's 'friend' occupied. I will take care of Zabuza." The group immediately got into the different positions they were given.

Zabuza saw the opposing group getting ready "I don't think we have more time for chit-chat. Haku you got first"

"Hai" she said, as she began sprinting around making her way to the Konoha shinobi. Sasuke looked in awe at the speed of his opponent as he brought up his kunai. She was aiming for one of the nerves in his chest, when he blocked. Zabuza saw it and raised his eyebrow _'oh? He was able to catch up to her speed.'_

The two shinobi looked each other over, trying to estimate the others strength. Their kunai clashed again and again, neither being able to get through the others guard. Haku spun around fast, trying to get some more force into his strike, but Sasuke just did the same, getting the same result. They stopped, trying to overpower the other, rather than compete in speed. Then Haku spoke "I don't want to kill you, but you won't back off, right?"

Sasuke smirked at his opponent "What? Are you stupid?"

"As I thought… But you won't be able to keep up with me for my next move" she said, keeping up the power struggle. "And I'm already two steps ahead of you".

"Really? And which steps would that be?" Sasuke asked with a smirk and a raised eyebrow

"The first one is the water on the ground" Haku said, keeping her voice even

"And the second?" Sasuke asked

"And the second one" she continued "is that I'm keeping one of your arms busy. Therefore, you can only take and block my attacks."

While keeping Sasuke's arm busy, she brought up her other hand, starting to go through one-handed seals. Sasuke's eyes widened _'what!? He's creating seals with one hand…?'_ He could only stand there and do nothing. If he tried to back off, then his opponent would stab him down. If he stayed, he would most likely get hit by whatever technique Haku was casting. He was trapped.

Haku stopped at a half ram-seal " _Sensatsu Suishō_ " she said stomping with one foot in the ground. All the water around them flew into the air, forming a dome like shape around the two. As soon as the dome was shaped, the water started forming into needles, covering every escape route. Sasuke gulped _'So this is it? I'm going to end like this? Without even having a chance to catch up at Itachi?'_

The people around the two fighters could only look by. Kakashi was, to say it mildly, surprised _'One-handed seals? I've only ever seen that in veterans! And it's not something you can learn; you either can or can't do it. And the latter is the most common. That boy really is something. I have to do something!'_ With that thought Kakashi charged towards the two, aiming to get Sasuke out of the needle dome. He was, however, stopped midway by a Zabuza slashing with his decapitation sword, and was forced to dodge it unless he wanted to lose a head.

Zabuza shook his head laughing lightly, causing chills down Sakura's back "Now, now Kakashi, it wouldn't be nice to interrupt someone's fighting, would it now?"

Kakashi looked frustrated at Zabuza, and thereafter Sasuke _'Come on Naruto. We need you…'_

Sasuke looked around the dome, trying to find a way to escape the come, but all escape routes were blocked. He glanced over the shoulder to see if Kakashi could help him, only to see him in a showdown against Zabuza. He turned his vision back on his opponent. The water needles began flying towards the two, and Haku jumped back to avoid getting hit. The sound of the needles hitting their target sounded as the place they had fought was covered up in vapor. Haku didn't move out of her defensive position as it was slowly was blown away by the light ocean breeze. What she saw surprised her. Sasuke was inside a prism made up of thin red crystal. She narrowed her eyes _'So he has shown up. This is what I have trained for the last week. The other two won't be a problem, but the Shoton user. Now where is he?'_ Her question was answered as she heard a voice behind her.

" _Kessho Purizumu_ " it came from Naruto who looked a little winded. He looked over the field; Haku was standing a few meters from Sasuke, who was now inside his crystal prism, Kakashi and Zabuza were standing in front of each other a couple of meter from Sasuke, not looking like they had started yet, and finally Sakura was standing guard in front of Tazuna all the way back on the bridge.

Haku rose from her crouch without turning towards Naruto "so you have finally decided to show up?"

Naruto jumped over to Sasuke, releasing his prism in the process. Sasuke looked up at his blond teammate and nodded appreciating. Naruto, seeing that Sasuke was ok, stood up and faced Haku "Sorry if I kept you waiting. I had to take care of the thugs your boss hired to kidnap Tazuna's family. Did he really think he could kidnap them with thugs? Surely you have told him about us."

Haku didn't answer but began going through seals, causing Naruto to go into defensive stance. Haku finished and stomped in the ground again " _Sensatsu Suishō_ ". Water again rose from the ground, before forming into needles and shoot towards the two boys. Haku was shocked when all the needles stopped only a few meters from Naruto who was standing with a hand raised towards the needles. Slowly at first, but going faster and faster, the needles crystallized with Naruto at center.

Naruto smirked "Jutsu like that isn't going to work on me". As he talked the needles combined and started forming the Rokkaku shuriken. With a flick of a finger they flew towards Haku who could only parry and dodge. Naruto was impressed that she didn't get hit once. "Impressive" he nodded approvingly.

Haku was watching him through her mask _'He can crystallize my Suiton… But how does he fare against a material that's already a crystal?'_ She began going through another set of seals " _Hyoton: Senbon no Hari!_ "

Naruto was shocked to see the water around his opponent froze over before breaking into pieces and forming senbon. He didn't let it show as he looked at his opponent "I see… You have a Kekkai Genkai too. But seriously, what's with the needles?" He didn't get an answer as the ice senbon fired towards him. He planned to crystallize them, but was surprised at how hard it was. They got closer and closer, and he had only crystallized a little over a tenth of them. They were too close for comfort as he realized he couldn't crystallize them all before they hit. He looked over his shoulder to see Sasuke up and about again. "Sasuke, he has a Kekkai Genkai, go and protect Tazuna-Ojisan and I will take care of this!" Naruto said as they began to dodge all the needles. There were too many and they got scratches here and there.

Sasuke glared at his teammate "no way. I'm Uchiha elite; no way can a clan less dobe do better than me."

"Sasuke, remove that pole from your ass! Maybe if you had your Sharingan yet you could do it, but you don't! So let the 'clan less dobe' handle it! I should be able to keep him busy with my Shoton." As they spoke the mist began to thicken "Crap, Kakashi-sensei and Zabuza must have started their fight." They could hear their teacher and Zabuza clash here and there. Naruto took a look at Sasuke; he didn't look like he was going to Tazuna. He sighed dejectedly "Fine stay, but don't get in the way!"

Sasuke was still glaring at Naruto, but resigned "Fine"

Naruto turned towards Haku "Now, shall we?"

"You're not going to give up either, are you?" Haku asked from his position

Naruto shook his head "Sorry, no can do. Wouldn't look good on paper that my first higher ranking mission was a failure" _'And I can't let all these people down'_

"I didn't think so. _Hyoton: Senbon no Hari_!" she said again, forming the ice needles.

Naruto knew he couldn't crystallize them, so he had to block them. He quickly went through the right seals " _Kessho: Rokkaku Shuriken: Ranbu_!" The ice senbon and crystal shuriken clashed midair, causing several hundred clangs to travel over the bridge. Neither one wanted to give in, and kept throwing projectiles at the other. At last they could see that neither of them would win like this, and Naruto stopped only to dodge the last few senbon from Haku by jumping to the side. They looked at each other, trying to determine what the other was going to do, both standing in their respective poses. Finally Haku made two more ice senbon and charged. Naruto made his crystal tanto's and charged as well.

Sasuke looked from the sidelines and marveled at the speed and power. It was clear to him that Haku had held back during their clash, and that Naruto never really showed his true powers. It was true that it had been two months since they had fought Kakashi in the bell test, but no one could get that much stronger that fast… could they? Sasuke got angry. He could still remember the dead last in their class. Where did he go? Where the hell did this Naruto come from? Shoton couldn't be the only answer. He wanted to show that he could fight too, but he could tell just by looking at Haku and Naruto that he was no match for either of them. Sure, he could probably get a hit in here and there, but in the end he would lose.

Naruto dodged another swipe from Haku's ice senbon, and tried to retaliate by slashing at her gut, but no luck. Haku brought her other senbon down and blocked. Betraying their size, the ice senbon was both strong and durable, surely because of the chakra it took to make them. _'It's probably because of all the chakra in them that I can't crystallize fast enough. I bet with a lot of training it wouldn't matter much to me, but as I am now it simply takes too much concentration'_ Naruto theorized as he ducked under a kick. He tried to grab it to twist it like he had done earlier, but no luck as Haku conjured up a few senbon and threw them at him, forcing him to jump back a few meters to avoid them. They looked at each other again, regaining their breath. They weren't winded or anything, but they knew that this fight would take some time. From what they could tell they were as strong as the other. This battle was only going to end when either the other slipped up, or by the one who had most stamina. They charged again.

\- With Kakashi and Zabuza -

Kakashi was holding up his Kunai in a defensive stance. Zabuza was totally controlling this battle, no doubt about that. His Sharingan wasn't too much use as the fog was too thick. He was covered in small cuts here and there, the biggest being in his hand. Zabuza had stabbed him with a strange blade as soon as he had tried to uncover his Sharingan. After that Zabuza had disappeared into the mist, showing why he was called Demon of Kiri. His abilities with the silent killing method was frightening. The only reason he was still here was because of his Sharingan; he could dodge just enough for Zabuza to miss any of his vital areas. He was just hoping that Naruto and Sasuke were doing better. He could still hear sounds from another battle, so he was positive that they were still alive.

"Well, well Kakashi, it looks like you don't look so good" it came from Zabuza in the mist

"You're worried about me Zabuza? That's cute. You don't have to, I'm more than ok" Kakashi said, hiding his worry.

"Really? I guess we will have to do something about that won't we?" Zabuza said finishing with an evil laugh. Kakashi tightened up his stance and awaited a new barrage of assaults.

\- With Naruto and Haku -

Naruto forced Haku back with a barrage of slashes. Haku jumped back, throwing a few senbon in the process, and landed a few meters away. Naruto simply blocked the senbon. They were in a stare showdown again. None of them had gained any injuries after they had started their fight. Naruto had gotten a few scratches from the ice senbon at the start, but they were healed now, thanks to the old fuzz ball. After that he had activated his crystal armor. He looked over his opponent; she didn't have any scratches either. But Naruto knew he had gotten through her guard a couple of times. He took a closer look and saw cold air forming around her. Now it made sense "I see. So you also have an armor, just like my _Kessho no Yoroi_ " Naruto said staying in his stance.

"Indeed I have. _Kori no Yoroi_ encases me in a thin sheet of chakra-infused ice. It will block all edged attacks but the most powerful" Haku replied.

Naruto nodded mentally to _himself 'It's the same principles as my crystal armor. If we weren't enemies I'm sure we could learn a lot from each other. It does make sense though; ice is a crystal, a different crystal than my crystals, but a crystal none the less.'_ He paused and looked over at his opponent. He didn't know why, but he had an odd feeling that they had met before. Well, other than the brief encounter when his team had fought Zabuza the first time.

Haku began going through seals, she knew that they weren't getting anywhere with Taijutsu. She concentrated a lot of ice chakra and focused it in her longs before exhaling " _Hyoton: Namida Reito_!" A deep blue colored wind flew from her mouth and headed for Naruto.

Naruto saw this and knew he couldn't get hit. He quickly went through his own seals and stomped in the ground " _Shoton: Kesshono Kabe_!" A thick crystal wall grew from the concrete of the bridge, defending Naruto from the blue wind. The wind hit hard and the wall groaned under the strain, but it held. The wind split and went to either side of the wall and continued like that. Naruto seeing the attack was over shattered the wall. Everywhere the wind had hit a thick layer of ice were present on the ground. He took a look at his opponent; she didn't even look effected by using such a powerful attack. It was true he wouldn't either, but he had a demon inside him to help him with that.

Getting over it, Naruto decided to attack while he had the chance. He gathered a lot of Shoton chakra in his hand and slammed it into the bridge " _Shoton: Omiwatari no Jutsu_!" Blue crystals shot up from the ground making their way towards Haku. The Kunoichi began jumping back to avoid the attack. She was taken aback by the speed of the attack.

She saw that she couldn't run from it and went through seals "Hyoton: Namida Reito!" She slammed her fists down on the bridge and her own spikes began to form. The two attacks moved closer and closer until Ice clashed with Crystal. The force the two attacks hit with was enough to tremble the big bridge. Naruto and Haku had to concentrate chakra at their feet to not lose their foothold.

"Enough. I guess I will have to use one of my strongest attacks" Naruto said and began going through a great deal of seals " _Shoton: Hasho Koryu_!" From the water behind him a great crystal dragon rose. It danced around the air as it awaited Naruto's command. It wasn't anything near as big as either Kakashi's of Zabuza's water dragons had been, but it was decent enough for a Genin or even a Chunin.

"I guess so" Haku said going through her own seals " _Hyoton: Reito Ryu_!" She cried as three ice dragons rose behind her.

Naruto sweat dropped _'of course she also knows that kind of jutsu. Isn't there anything I can do to get the upper hand?'_ he thought as the two dragons began attacking, making crystal and ice showering down on Naruto and Haku.

"Don't wreck my damn bridge," Tazuna hollered angrily. "I'll kick your ass blondie!"

"You can try kicking my ass after we're done fighting for our lives Jiji!" Naruto fired back hotly in the dense fog.

Sakura only sighed beside the bridge builder; ' _Yep, he's still a smartass at the very least.'_

\- With Kakashi and Zabuza -

Kakashi looked in the direction of where all the battle sounds where coming. He was starting to get a little worried. It hadn't been nice sounds that had come from that direction, and a few moments ago the whole section of the bridge had trembled. And now he heard roars of big beast, and even through the thick mist he could see shadows clashing.

"It's some student you have Kakashi, to be able to stand up against Haku" Zabuza's voice sounded

Kakashi tried to determine the origin of the voice. "The feeling is mutual. Naruto is most likely becoming the strongest Genin in Konoha. And if not, he is the strongest of his year" Kakashi replied while keeping his worry hidden. He couldn't afford to show any weakness now. He had come up with a strategy to get Zabuza. Now all he needed was to wait.

"I don't know about you, but I would like to see this fight, so let's finish this" Zabuza said, before appearing from the mist with his blade raised for a slash. Kakashi let it slash him slightly in the stomach, making blood splatter out on his opponent. Zabuza grinned before disappearing into the mist again.

"I agree Zabuza" Kakashi said keeping the pain back by sheer willpower "it's time we end this. The next jutsu will be the last". Kakashi brought out a scroll from his flak jacket, smeared blood on it, and began a ritual like process.

"Is that so? I can't wait to see what it-" he was interrupted when an ear shattering roar reverted through the mist, followed by what sounded like crystal shattering.

\- With Sasuke -

Sasuke had tried his best to keep watching Haku and Naruto, but they were so fast. There were moments when he thought they had slowed down, but he brushed it off as his imagination. Finally he took Naruto's advice and made his way to Tazuna and Sakura. There was no way he could help Naruto. He could hear the roars of the dragons and the clashes they had, but ignored it as well as he could and continued.

Soon enough he was Sakura still standing the same place in front of Tazuna. Her face lit up with joy for a second, before it showed fear "Sasuke! What's wrong with your eyes?"

Sasuke looked dumbstruck "What do you mean? There's nothing wrong with them."

"But" Sakura said; not sure if she should tell 'her' Sasuke what's wrong "they're red!" Sasuke's eyes widened in excitement as he looked down in a puddle. And sure enough, his eyes were red with one tomoe in his left eye and two in his right eye. He finally had the Sharingan.

Before he could tell Sakura what had happened a shattering roar sounded from where Naruto and Haku was fighting followed by a crystal shattering sound. Sakura and Tazuna both looked worried in the direction it had come from. Tazuna was the first to speak "What the hell is happening? It sounds like they're tearing my bridge apart!" Sakura seemed to think the same

Sasuke looked away from the where Naruto and Haku was, and looked seriously at the two in front of him "It's Naruto"

Sakura was shocked. She had thought it was Kakashi and Zabuza. She looked away from Sasuke and looked in the direction Naruto was. He may be a Baka and annoying at times, but he was her teammate. She clutched her hands together _'Naruto… please be careful…'_

\- With Naruto and Haku -

Naruto was standing a couple of meters from his opponent. They were both starting to pant. They had used a lot of chakra. Naruto still had about forty percent left. This had been a lot harder than he had thought.

Haku looked at her opponent through her mask _'I can't go on like this much longer. I have to use it'._ She began gathering what chakra she had "I'm sorry, but this can't go on much longer. I have to defeat you. There's no doubt about that you're strong for Genin, perhaps even a Chunin, but it ends here. No one has ever beaten my next jutsu Naruto-kun"

Naruto's eyes narrowed "How do you know my name. It isn't something I tell everyone" Naruto thought about it for a second _'well, not anyone not from the village'_. He took a real close look at his opponent, and his eyes widened in surprise as he recognized her "It's you! You from the forest!"

Haku stared through her mask for a few seconds, pondering if she should reveal herself. She sighed deeply and took of her mask "Yes."

Naruto stared in disbelief "But why? Why would you work for someone like Zabuza?"

Haku gave Naruto a friendly smile "He saved me. You know about Kiri and its civil war?" Naruto slowly nodded. He remembered reading about it from Jiji; most of the population had developed an irrational fear of the families with Kekkai Genkai after the second great shinobi war. They had all but hunted the clans with Kekkai Genkai. It struck Naruto where it hurt since he had a Kekkai Genkai. He remembered being really happy about living in Konoha; they loved their Kekkai Genkai. If you wanted convincing, just look at the Hyuuga clan, or the Uchiha clan. They were some of the most influential clans in Konoha - even the Uchiha after being massacred.

Haku continued "My full name is Yuki Haku. My clan has the ability to control ice, or Hyoton as it's known as. We're never a very big clan, and we haven't supported any of the Mizukage there have been, and thus not participated in any of the wars. But that didn't matter. They went after us too. My mother changed her name. She married my father without telling him, and they had me." She paused to let it sink in "I was four when I first found out about my abilities. I showed my mom, I thought she would be so proud of me. But instead she hit me and told me to never do it again. But it was too late – my father had already found out. He gathered a mob and killed my mom in front of me. Then they went for me. I can't remember much after that. One thing I do remember was an ice spike that went through my father. I figured I killed him…"

Again she paused and looked over the ocean "I wandered for months through the roads of Kiri, no one cared enough to stop up and ask if I was ok. We were in a civil war, and one only looked out for one self. That was until Zabuza found me. He took me in, he cared for me, and he trained me. That was when his dream became my dream. I want to free Kiri. I want us to be one again."

Naruto looked at her with pity as she looked over the ocean _'Why did we have to be enemies?'_

She looked back at Naruto with a determined look "If you won't back down, I will have to make you."

She raised her hands in a seal Naruto had never seen " _Makyō Hyōshō_!" A blue aura began to emit from her. Naruto noticed it was the same color as the Hyoton: Namida Reito she had used earlier and readied himself. Around him ice began to shoot up from the ground, forming mirrors. Before he could do anything about it he was inside a dome of ice mirrors. There was twenty-one: Twelve remained at ground level, eight floated above the first twelve and angled toward the ground, and the final mirror was above the rest and facing the ground. Naruto heard steps and faced Haku who was slowly making her way to a mirror and stepped inside. Now she was in all twenty-one "You have lost now Naruto. There is nothing you can do but give up".

"I already told you that I can't do that" Naruto said determinately "Have you seen what people in this country live like? How children beg for food just to survive the day? I am fighting for all of them. You are fighting for Gatou, the one that caused this. So I will win this, I will defeat you, and I will help free this nation from Gatou's grasp."

Haku looked a little sad "Very well then" she said as she raised her senbon "then you will die" and with that she threw needles from all the mirrors faster than you could see.

\- With Kakashi and Zabuza -

Kakashi finished the ritual and slammed scroll into the ground. Zabuza laughed "No matter what you're doing it won-" he was cut short as he cried out in pain, and the mist lightened.

Kakashi walked over to Zabuza to find him impaled the ground by dogs, biting his arms legs and ribs. "You can't escape this. Now, release the jutsu!"

Zabuza tried to find a way out of the mess when he felt a cold chill and smirked at Kakashi "Sure. You want to see the demise of your student, won't you?" he said as he released it. The fog dispersed almost immediately. Kakashi was stunned to see a big dome of ice mirrors with Naruto in the middle. He didn't look like he had any injuries, but he looked exhausted, way more than Kakashi had ever seen him. And every now and then he was barraged with senbon needles. They bounced harmlessly off his crystal armor, but it wouldn't last forever. He was about to go to help him when Naruto looked him straight in the eye. He got the message and stayed where he was. He was just about to ask Zabuza when he answered "It's Haku's clan secret jutsu: Makyō Hyōshō. No one has ever escaped or defeated it. Even I would have trouble with it." Kakashi looked away from Zabuza and glanced over at Tazuna, thankful to see him unharmed, and saw Sasuke and Sakura guarding him. They all had worried look on their faces and they starred at Naruto in the dome.

\- With Naruto and Haku -

Naruto had tried almost everything, but he couldn't break out of the dome. There was one more thing he could try, but it would leave him with almost no chakra, and it wasn't even sure to work. It was a new jutsu he had been working on, a last resort jutsu. He was brought out of his chain of thoughts when he was hit with another barrage of senbon. He looked at Haku. He wasn't in every mirror anymore; he was also low on chakra. _'Maybe, just maybe, it will work. She is also low on chakra…'_ Naruto thought _'Only one way to find out. But I must go through a lot of seals. I just hope my armor can hold the senbon off just for a little more time'._

With that thought Naruto began going through a lot of seals. Haku saw this _'What is he trying to do? I can't let him do whatever he is planning. I have to stop him'_ and she began bombarding him with more senbon needles. Slowly but surely his armor began to crack. Naruto speed up the seals as his armor began cracking more and more. Just as it Haku was about to throw the senbon that would have destroyed his armor, Naruto finished his preparation and gathered his remaining chakra. Everyone present looked in awe as a small pink ball began to form in above Naruto's chest.

Naruto squinted in concentration before crying " _Shoton: Kessho Jundo_!" The small ball expanded and encased the whole dome before dispersing. First nothing happened, but then with Naruto as center, everything the blast wave had touched crystallized. Within a few seconds the section of the bridge was fully crystal, even the mirrors. Haku had just enough time to jump out of the mirrors after using the last of her chakra trying to prevent them from breaking. As soon as she was out Naruto went through a few seals, effectively using the last of his chakra " _Shoton: Baningu Kosoku_ " and crystal chains separated from the crystallized ground and tied Haku up. With that done, Naruto shattered the mirrors and returned the bridge to normal. When he was done he was on one knee.

Sasuke, Sakura and Tazuna were by his side fast. Tazuna grinned widely at him "Good job brat! That was some jutsu used there at last. I'm just glad you could return the bridge to normal"

Naruto grinned back at Tazuna as Sakura fussed over him to see if he was injured. But thanks for his crystal armor; which he couldn't hold up anymore, all he suffered was being low on chakra. They were about to walk over to Kakashi and Zabuza when someone clapped.

At the end of the unfinished bridge were standing Gatou and about fifty men "Zabuza you dog! I knew you couldn't do it! Well, good riddance. I wasn't planning on paying you anyway!"

Zabuza glared at Gatou "Kakashi, it seems our, erm, disagreement is over"

Kakashi didn't take his eyes of Gatou and his men "Yeah, it seems like it" he said and dispelled the dogs and freeing Zabuza. He nodded at Naruto who did the same to Haku. Kakashi looked over his team, Zabuza and Haku. The only ones capable of fighting right now was Sasuke and Sakura, and there was no way they could take fifty men down, no matter how strong the enemy were.

Gatou looked at two of the men beside him "Well, what are you waiting for? Kill Tazuna! Kill them all!"

One of the men he had spoken to "What about the pretty rosette over there?" he asked with a perverse grin

"You can have her, just kill the rest of them" Gatou responded

That seemed to excite the men "You got it boss!" the two went through seals, quickly making it obvious that they were shinobi " _Suiton: Mizu no Dangan_!"

Multiple water projectiles formed as bullets quickly shot towards Tazuna and Sakura who was standing in front of him. Naruto's eyes widened. He tried using his Shoton, but he didn't have enough chakra. Before he knew it he was standing in front of Sakura with the worst pain he had ever had in his chest. He looked down and saw multiple holes. He looked at Kakashi who had wide eyes. Naruto coughed, causing blood to be spewed from his mouth. Faster than he could see more water bullets where shot towards him with such force it pushed him off the bridge and into the cold water below. The world began to blacken, and the last thing he heard was a female voice screaming his name. Tears brimming Sakura's eyes before realizing she was the one who screamed.

\- With Naruto -

Naruto slowly opened his eyes. As soon as he did he shot up and bounced into defensive stance. He looked around and couldn't see where he was. The last thing he remembered was falling off the bridge. And now he was in a… sewer? _'No use of staying here'_ he thought as he began making his way through the hall.

The longer he went the more an ominous feeling began to grow in his chest. At last he made to a room with a big cage at the end; the only thing seemingly keeping it shot was a piece of paper with the kanji for 'seal' on it. A deep rumble came from the cage **"So, you've finally come here"**

Naruto squinted his eyes to try and see what was in the cage "Who are you?"

 **"Come closer and you'll see"** the voice sounded.

Naruto carefully took a few steps towards the cage, but jumped back when four enormous claws tried to hit him through the bars **"Gah! If it wasn't for this damn seal I would shred you where you stand!"**

Naruto quickly made two crystal tanto's "Kyuubi no Yoko" he stated.

Two Glowing red eyes opened in the cage as the Kyuubi partially stepped into view **"You're right I am. And I see you're using my gift well, human"** the Kyuubi said, saying the last part as it was venom.

Naruto didn't pay attention to it much "If you are the Kyuubi, then this must be inside my mind"

 **"Very observant. Your predecessors weren't as clever the first time they came to face me"**

"Why am I here?" Naruto asked

 **"You're dying"** the Kyuubi stated flatly, as if he was talking about the weather.

"I-I'M WHAT!?" Naruto asked disbelieving

 **"Dying, as becoming dead, as not living"** Kyuubi said amused. He hadn't had this much fun since he had been sealed inside Kushina. Oh how he could push her buttons

Naruto starred at the big fox "This can't be happening. I'm dying, and worse, my last moments will be with a demon fox that have made my life a living hell". Naruto sat down and began thinking. He could remember from the books about Jinchurriki that they sometimes could channel their tenant's power. Now it was just a question of how to get the Kyuubi to cooperate _. 'It's not like I can force him to do it. He is an ageless mass of living chakra. But maybe…'_ Naruto smirked to himself "Well, if I am to die, I can't see any better way. I will have defeated one of the most powerful beings in this world"

The Kyuubi's laughter boomed through the sewers **"most powerful being? The Hyoton user is nothing compared to what I've seen. Heck, even by your puny standards she wasn't much to talk about"**

"Oh, I'm not talking about her" Naruto stated

The Kyuubi narrowed his eyes at the human standing in front of him **"Then who are you talking about?"**

Naruto smirked at the Kyuubi "You of course. When I die, you die. You're sealed inside me. Too bad, I guess if you had enough time you could break out some way. But that's not going to happen now". The Kyuubi didn't have any answer to that. Naruto went for the kill "Unless…"

 **"Unless what, human?"**

"Unless you lend me your chakra. I bet that those guys couldn't stand up to the might of the 'mighty Kyuubi no Yoko'."

 **"Watch it human"** the fox growled. He was silent for a few seconds **"Very well, but you best not waist it! You are representing me; no way is my vessel going to lose to a bunch of thugs!"** Red mist began to emit from the cage and centered on Naruto. First only a little, then more and more until Naruto couldn't see a hand in front of him. He heard the fox deep laugher rumple through the mist.

\- With Kakashi -

Kakashi kept brushing off the attacking thugs. It seemed that it was only the two that attacked – killed – Naruto was shinobi. Kakashi kept glancing over at where Naruto had stood. There was a pool of blood spattering from where he had coughed up the blood. He looked over at Sakura who looked to be on the brink of tears. Her mind almost went blank as the image of Naruto kept appearing, watching him die to protect her. He was distracted for a moment, and was just about to take a stab from the enemy, when Zabuza blocked it. He glanced over his shoulder to look at Kakashi "Kakashi, get it together. Don't let the blond kid's death be in vain!"

Kakashi looked at Zabuza and nodded "You're right". He turned towards the attackers again. He was going to protect the rest of his team. He broke his promise once already – he was not going to do it again. But he had also let his sensei down. Kakashi knocked out one of the attackers, and was just about to do the same to another when he felt a huge chakra spike. He looked around, he wasn't the only one. Even the thugs without training seemed to sense something. Then a large quake happened, knocking many of the thugs off their feet. That was when Kakashi recognized the chakra _'It can't be! It's the Kyuubi's chakra. I would never forget that feeling.'_ He turned towards Sasuke, Sakura and Tazuna "Get off the bridge!"

Sasuke wasn't going to go that easy "But se-"

"NOW!" Kakashi interrupted. Sakura ran over to Sasuke and tugged him in the arm. The three of them ran towards the entrance to the bridge while Kakashi, Zabuza and Haku held off the thugs. Another quake happened, stronger than before. The three shinobi were forced to use chakra to stay on their feet. The thugs and Gatou weren't so lucky, and kept falling on their behinds. The shinobi took this as their chance and took out a good portion of thugs. By now there were about thirty left, give or take a few. Kakashi heard a big crash and waves being pushed away. He quickly looked and marveled at the sight. A big crimson crystal pillar rose out in the ocean, towering the bridge by at least ten meters. He got a burst of hope _'Naruto!_ ' Another crash from the other side of the bridge, and another of the pillars appeared. Two more appeared not long after. And then it happened. A pillar thicker and higher than any of them shut up from the ocean by the end of the unfinished bridge.

" **You are dead Gatou**!" Naruto's voice sounded. But it wasn't like his usual voice; it was thick and dark with killer intent. Kakashi tried to see where he was, and finally spotted him. On top of the last pillar a figure where standing on all fours. Naruto was looking around with red demon eyes, trying to figure out where his victim was. He jumped down onto the bridge, scaring the thugs. One of them tried to jump off the bridge, but only made it half a meter off from it, before a spike shot out from one of the pillars, killing him on the spot. Naruto laughed " **You don't want to come out and play Gatos-chan? Fine! I'll come and find you!** " The top of the pillar behind Naruto shattered in small pieces that swirled around him. Then he charged; roaring he tore down enemies left and right. No one could escape him; they were swiped with his claw like hands, impaled by the small crystals, and broken by his strong punches and kicks.

Kakashi, Zabuza and Haku could only look in awe and fear as Naruto tore through all their enemies. There was twenty left, then fifteen, then ten. As the last few fell, Gatou came running towards them "Please, save me! I'll give you anything, pay you any amount!"

" **Not a chance**!" Naruto's demonic voice sounded. He charged a massive amount of chakra in his hands and slammed them into the ground, which began to glow dark red with chakra and moved at a fast pace towards Gatou, who began running even faster. The other shinobi saw as the chakra caught up with the little tyrant and crystallized him. Not a few seconds after it shattered in atomic pieces. Nothing was left of Gatou.

" **It's** over" the blond Genin said. He looked at Kakashi and smiled. He began falling because of his exhaustion, only to be caught by Kakashi.

"Naruto-nii chan?" Inari asked. Naruto's eyes slowly open to see Inari followed by Sasuke, Sakura, Tazuna and the rest of the islanders.

"Oh, hey Inari. What are you doing here?" Naruto asked, not even bothering hiding his exhaustion from the child.

"We came to help! All the villagers!" Inari answered, getting loud agreements from the villagers, who began to cheer on Naruto and his feat.

The silver haired Jounin looked at his student as Naruto's eyes shut close. The Jounin smiled "You did good Naruto"

Inari went over to Kakashi "Is nii chan ok?"

The Jounin smiled at the boy "Yeah, he will be fine. He just needs a lot of rest"

"That's good" Inari said excited and walked back to the villagers and told them the news.

Kakashi took Naruto as piggyback and began heading over to Zabuza and Haku. That stopped when they heard a voice they had hoped not to ever hear "Momochi Zabuza, Yuki Haku"

The shinobi spun around and faced the new appearance. It was a squad of four shinobi, wearing the same mask as Haku had when they had first met. Zabuza sighed in defeat "So you finally caught up to us… I will come peacefully, I only have one request. Let Haku go"

Haku couldn't even move. His master was willing to give his freedom for hers. She was about to disagree when the hunter-nin spoke up "No, both of you are coming with us."

Zabuza reached for his blade "Then we will fight"

The hunter-nin squad leader shook his head "You misunderstand Zabuza-san. The fourth Mizukage is dead. We are here on behalf of the fifth Mizukage, Terumi Mei. She said you two were close comrades under the early stages of the civil war"

Zabuza's eyes widened before narrowing "How do I know you're telling the truth?"

"She really knows you well. She told us you would react like that, and told us to tell you 'even if the mist becomes bloody, doesn't mean it can't become pure again'"

Zabuza slowly displayed a big grin "Haku, we're finally going home again". He turned towards Kakashi and bowed "I am sorry we had to meat under these circumstances. I hope to see you and that blond brat again"

Haku bowed likewise "Wish Naruto-kun well. I learned a lot from him". They both rose and walked to the hunter-nin, and then all disappeared with a Shunshin. Kakashi and his two conscious Genin walked back to towards Tazuna's house, receiving a hero's welcome as they walked through the city.

\- A week later -

Team 7 was standing at the entrance to the newly finished bridge, preparing to go back to Konoha. The mission had taken a bit longer than they had anticipated, and they were all eager to get back home. To bid them goodbye were all the islanders leaded by Inari, Tazuna and Tsunami. Inari was sobbing lightly, seeing his new hero and big brother go away. Naruto kneeled down beside him, and he tried stop crying "I have to stop crying, or you'll just call me a crybaby!"

Naruto smiled friendly at Inari "It's ok to cry when you're happy. It just shows that you're human". Inari nodded and succumbed to full-out crying. Naruto hugged him goodbye and got up. Team 7 bids their goodbyes and began their journey home. Standing back was the bridge builder and his family.

Tazuna was smiling at the sight of Inari; he had gotten his grandson back "Hey, we haven't named the bridge yet"

Inari was looking at the fading vision of Team 7 "I think I have an idea"

"Oh, really?" Tazuna asked, already having a hunch

"'The Great Naruto Bridge'" Inari said as it was obvious. Several of the islanders voiced their agreement

Tazuna scratched his chin "'The Great Naruto Bridge', huh? Well, the name has given him plenty of luck. It should serve as our bridge well".

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Sensatsu Suishō - Thousand Flying Water Needles of Death: Using this technique, Haku gathers some water from the air and surrounding environment into one thousand long needles. She then directs them to a specific target at high speed, leaping backwards before impact so she doesn't get caught in the crossfire. Haku is able to perform this jutsu with one-handed seals, allowing him to pin an opponent's arm and attack while they cannot use any techniques themselves.

Hyoton: Senbon no Hari – Ice Release: Frost Senbon Needles: Haku freezes surrounding water and shapes them into frost senbon.

Kori no Yoroi – Ice Armor: This jutsu allows the user to become encased in a thin sheet of ice to protect herself from blunt force trauma. This armor can also aid the user in performing stronger physical attacks. The ice is transparent and can only be noticed by light reflecting off it.

Hyoton: Namida Reito – Ice Release: Freezing Wind: This jutsu requires the user to knead a large amount of chakra inside the body which is then converted into ice chakra, and expelled from the mouth in the form of a blue colored wind. Anything that this freezing wind comes into contact with will be automatically frozen. The effectiveness of this jutsu depends on the volume of chakra that is mustered. The only problem with this jutsu is however, that it is used for short range; therefore, the user must be near the opponent first when initiating the jutsu.

Shoton: Kessho no Kabe - Crystal Release: Crystal Wall: The user conjures a protective wall of crystal.

Shoton: Omiwatari no Jutsu - Crystal Release: The Gods' Crossings Technique: The user places his hand on a surface, creating a long stream of sharp crystals to bind and pierce a target.

Hyoton: Namida Reito – Ice Release: Frozen Tear: Once the appropriate hand seals are done, the user begins to gather ice elemental chakra around their fist. When the necessary chakra is gathered the user will punch the ground with either one or both of their fists causing the ground to break open and stalactites (large spikes) of ice to appear from underneath the ground, these large ice spikes are super hard can be used to impale or skewer a target. Normally the spikes appear from underneath the ground, but it's possible to cause them to appear from the side of a tree, or from a ceiling. The size and speed of the jutsu depends on amount of chakra used, more chakra, the faster the "tear" will appear, and the stronger it will be. This technique can also be performed this near a body of water, as the user can manipulate any source of water into ice, thus the more water nearby the stronger the jutsu will be.

Shoton: Hasho Koryu - Crystal Release: Tearing Crystal Falling Dragon: The user crystallizes a material in the area, and then turns it into a dragon. It can be used as a means to travel or to attack a target. Several dragons can also be made and manipulated at once.

Hyoton: Reito Ryu - Ice Style: Frozen Dragon Jutsu: The user freezes a body of water and shapes it into a dragon that will do the users bidding. Can be used as a means to travel or to fight.

Makyō Hyōshō - Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals: The abominable and tremendous ability, passed down only within the Yuki clan. The "Kekkai Genkai: Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals" is a technique wrapped up in many mysteries. It was said that no method in existence can defeat this technique. In an instant, multiple mirrors of ice are created around the enemy, reflecting nothing but Haku. The opponent is trapped in a dome of twenty-one floating mirrors made out of ice. Twelve remain at ground level, eight float above the first twelve and angled toward the ground, and the final mirror is above the rest and facing the ground. Once Haku has entered the mirrors, it's possible for her to move between the mirrors at the speed of light. It's impossible to see attacks send out from this literal light speed movement. As every mirror shows his reflection, one could say it's impossible to see all of Haku's attacks. Even if the opponent tries to attack the real body, Haku will have already moved to another mirror. Without eyes like the Sharingan, it will be impossible to keep track of him.

If the mirror Haku is in is broken, he can leap out of one of the fragments and continue his attack or move to another mirror. The technique requires a large amount of chakra to maintain, so Haku's movement becomes progressively slower the longer he maintains the mirrors.

Haku can also form individual mirrors, not restricted to the twenty-one-mirror formation. He can create them high in the sky allowing him to take out airborne targets. The cold which emanates from the mirrors is also enough to cause snow to fall. Though they are made from ice, the mirrors are resistant to Katon techniques.

Shoton: Kessho Jundo – Crystal Release: A large amount of chakra is used to entirely remake the battlefield into a giant crystal formation. This jutsu can maximum encompasses 200 feet around the user, though the area is controlled by the amount of chakra and control the user has. With the large amount of chakra used this ability is not without benefits. After the area has reached its crystal state the user then can draw energy from it. Opponents will find it very difficult to get around because of the users chakra repelling there chakra from letting them climb. In deep caverns or gorges that are formed is the most unwanted place for enemy shinobi, because of the repelling feature on enemies the area would tamper the jutsu abilities of the enemy or worse backfire on themselves.

Suiton: Mizu no Dangan – Water Release: Water Bullet: The user fires bullets made out of water.


	7. Back to Konoha

**NOTE:** ' **READ THIS FIRST, I REPEAT. READ THIS FIRST!** ' when adopting this from Stormy Rebel, he told me this chapter and parts of chapter 2 were parts of other stories for which he spoke to the respected authors of those fics and they **allowed** him to use them. ' **AGAIN, READ THIS BEFORE READING THE CHAPTER! THANK YOU!'**

 **Chapter 7: Back in Konoha with the Genjutsu Mistress**

The members of Team 7 were standing in front of the Hokage in his office. They had just given their mission report and awaited a reply. Sasuke and Sakura kept glancing and grinned, well Sakura grinned, Sasuke did his 'amused smirk' face. Naruto couldn't really blame them; he was some sight. His clothes were almost completely ruined, his shirt had two holes close to his heart where the water bullets had hit him, and he had gashes all over from his fight with Haku. He got a tick mark when he heard Sakura giggle again _'I really need to get a second set of clothes. It wasn't like I could afford it before, but now that we get the pay of an A-rank it shouldn't be a problem. It's true I could have kept the jumpsuit, but I would've looked way worse. I mean, the more I wear these clothes, the more I realize how ridiculous I looked'._

"I see…" it came from the Sandaime Hokage. He puffed a bit on his pipe before continuing "Well, I'm happy that you're all OK. You will all get the appropriate pay, and I will make sure that it will be written as an A-rank in your files". That last bit cheered the team up, as they nodded approvingly to each other. "For now you can take a week off. And before you come with any objection it's because I have a mission for Kakashi" he looked sternly at the Genin in the room to make his point clear. None of them objected, thank gods, and he reached into the drawer and gave each of them the pay. "Good then. You're all dismissed. Kakashi I will call for you when we have your mission ready"

Sakura, Sasuke and Kakashi began to make their way out of the office. Naruto didn't move "Hokage-Sama, I will need to speak to you in private". His teammates looked baffled. What could Naruto want to speak to the Hokage about? Kakashi had an idea of what it was, and dragged Naruto's two teammates out of the office. Hiruzen knew it was important; he could see it on his grandson-figure's face, and the fact that he had said 'Hokage-same' instead of 'Jiji'. As Kakashi left the room, Naruto tried to locate the ANBU in the room and looked back at the Hokage "I mean completely alone"

Hiruzen hesitated a second before nodding. Three ANBU appeared from their different hiding spots before disappearing again. The old Hokage rose from his seat and activated a privacy seal. He turned towards Naruto "Now we can speak without anyone listening in. What was it you wanted to talk to me about?"

Now it was Naruto who was hesitating. He took a deep breath "Back in Nami, when we fought at the bridge. After I had gotten shot and fell into the waters, I thought I was dying…" Naruto paused. Sarutobi could clearly see that this wasn't something Naruto was talking about easily. He showed him over to the couch and sat beside him. Naruto continued "I think I blacked out or something. When I came to it I found myself in a sewer of some sort. I didn't know what was going on, and tried to find my way out. And then… then I met the Kyuubi"

Hiruzen's eyes shot wide open "You met the Kyuubi?" As far as he knew Kushina and Mito hadn't met the Kyuubi before they had actively tried it. That Naruto would meet it accidently like that was… concerning.

"Yeah I did, but don't worry, it's not breaking loose or anything. I was in my mind, and I saw the seal" Naruto replied fast, seeing the face his grandfather figure was displaying.

The old Hokage's face relaxed "What happened then?"

"Well, it was taunting me, saying how happy it was that I was dying and so on. I, of course, wasn't so thrilled about it. To make a long story short, it lent me some chakra to save its own life. Bargaining, if I die, it dies."

"You used the Kyuubi's chakra!?" Hiruzen asked in disbelief. As far as he knew neither Mito nor Kushina had ever used the Kyuubi's chakra; Kushina had explained that the Kyuubi didn't want to share it with 'lower beings'.

Naruto looked worried "If I didn't I would've died. I'm sure of it" he said looking down on the floor

Hiruzen saw how Naruto was reacting "Oh, sorry Naruto. I'm just surprised" he paused and put a hand on Naruto's head. The young Uzumaki looked up at him "I'm going to have Jiraiya come and see if there's anything wrong with the seal. If there isn't… Well, let's talk about that at the time. But for now Jiraiya is out on a mission" Naruto nodded showing he understood. The old Hokage smiled "Now to other matters. I have also added the Mizuki incident to your file as an A-rank"

Naruto looked surprised at the Hokage "You didn't have to do that"

Again the old Kage smiled at the blond in front of him "I did. You must understand that the scroll he tried to steal holds some of the best kept secrets in Konohagakure, including the Kage Bunshin and the Shiki Fūin seal that sealed the Kyuubi in you, and therefor also how to break it. It won't be easy, but… You get my point" Naruto nodded. "And of course you have also received the appropriate pay." He paused "So maybe now you could get some new clothes. Now I suggest you enjoy your days off" he finished chuckling

Naruto jumped out of the couch and showed the Hiruzen one of his most brilliant smiles "Will do Jiji" he said as he began to walk out towards the door.

"Oh, and Naruto?" The blond Genin turned around to look at the Hokage "good job"

Naruto grinned broadly at his grandfather figure "Thanks Jiji" and then bolted out of the door.

\- Fifteen minutes later at Higarashi Weapon Shop -

Tenten glanced at the clock once again. She sighed and leaned over the counter again _'five minutes my ass. I'm not even my shift, but of course I had to say yes to watch it for five minutes… thirty minutes ago. I'm going to kill Tou-san!'_ She sighed again. The village had been so quiet without Naruto in it. This says a lot given her eccentric teammates and lunatic sensei. Even when he didn't play occasional pranks, he did give the village a certain energy. And she missed him, her personally. They had become closer friends than she would've thought they could have when they met. She snickered remembering the orange jumpsuit he had walked into the store in, and how he had just spaced out when he saw her. She heard the bell over the door "WHAT THE HELL TOOK YOU SO LONG!"

"Erm, Nami no Kuni isn't exactly close" Naruto said rather sheepishly

Tenten blinked a few times "Oh sorry Naruto. It's my fa… What the hell happened to you!?" She had gotten a good look at his attire. It was… worrying

Naruto laughed lightly "Nothing really". Tenten didn't buy it and kept looking determinately at him, a look that said 'you're not getting out of here before you tell'. "Ok, ok. I got shot" Tenten's eyes widened a bit, but kept the look up. She knew Naruto wouldn't tell everything knowing it would worry her. Naruto saw this and sighed "ok, I got shot twice… and fell off a bridge… that was fifteen meters high… into freezing waters… and almost drowned… But I swear, I'm ok!" Naruto said, still getting 'the look'.

Tenten's jaw had almost hit the floor by now. She quickly gathered herself "Oh well, if it's only that. How did it happen?" Naruto sighed; he knew he had to tell the whole truth… Well, everything but the fox. And so he did. When he was done Tenten quickly got over to him and hugged him tightly "I'm glad you're ok"

Naruto tensed up – he was still not used to Tenten's hugging attitude, despite for knowing for a bit more than 2 months. There was a cough from the entrance "I hope I'm not interrupting anything?"

The two Genin turned towards the voice to see Kaito standing with an all knowing smile. Naruto blushed deeply and began franticly to try and explain. This was one of the few stores in the village that allowed 'the demon brat' to buy things, and he liked Tenten and Kaito – he wasn't about to get on their bad side. Kaito laughed deeply "Relax Naruto, I was just kidding. You're – whoa!" Kaito was now crouching after a dodge from a kunai. He turned towards a mad looking Tenten "What gives?"

Tenten glared at her dad "What gives? WHAT GIVES!? You said I only needed to watch the store for five minutes! Look at the clock; that was thirty minutes ago!"

Kaito laughed sheepishly "Sorry? I got caught up with Inoichi"

Tenten sighed "never mind that now. I'm going to help Naruto get a second set of clothes now"

It was the first time Kaito had actually taken a look at Naruto's clothes "Whoa! What happened to you?"

Naruto was about to answer when Tenten cut him off, still glaring at her father "Well, you would've known if you came back in time! Come Naruto, let's get your clothes."

\- Ten minutes later-

"Ok then, it will be two-thousand ryō. And I will make sure that your old clothes get fixed" Tenten while typing it into the cash register.

Naruto nodded and took out Gama-chan "Thanks Ten-chan". He was standing in identical clothes, though without all the gashes.

Tenten looked amused at him "Ten-chan?"

Naruto froze a bit "If you don't like it…"

"No, no, I like it" she quickly replied "I was just surprised."

Naruto smiled brightly at her and handed over the cash and the ruined clothes "Do you have any plans this afternoon?"

"Not really. You want to go grab something to eat? That meaning ramen of course" she said as she counted the money. It wasn't that she didn't trust Naruto, it was a policy they had; everyone could miscount or drop something.

"Yep. But we will have to drop by my place. I want to drop off my traveling gear"

"Of course" she took off her uniform. She turned towards the back "Dad, I'm going out"

A sound sounding like a hammer falling sounded followed by someone crying out. Naruto looked a little worried, but Tenten didn't seem faced by it. A few seconds later Kaito came out with sooth on half his face "Ok then, Naruto have her back home by eleven"

Naruto began to sputter again, trying to explain that it wasn't anything like that. Tenten shot a quick glare at her dad, who was grinning broadly, and sighed. "Come on Naruto" she said as they walked out the store.

\- Later that afternoon -

Tenten and Naruto were currently taking one of their strolls through Konoha. The blond looked around at the villagers around them; they were all giving him glares. He sighed. It was a big difference from the treatment he had gotten in Nami no Kuni. After the incident on the bridge they had almost treated him like a hero. He didn't want to be treated as a hero here; he just didn't want them to glare at him. Tenten saw it and looked with concern at him "Naruto, why is it the villagers treat you like this?"

Naruto didn't answer right away. He was deciding whether or not to tell. Finally he decided not to "I'm sorry Ten-chan. It's one thing I can't tell you… Well, I can, but I'm not ready yet" he looked at her with pleading eyes "please understand"

The older teen gave a nod at Naruto "I understand. Just know that I'm here. No matter what you tell me, I won't judge"

Naruto smiled carefully at her "thanks"

They walked in silence for a few minutes. It was the brunette who broke the silence "So, what are you going to do the next?"

Naruto frowned "I want to train, but there is only so much I can learn from books and train myself to. And I can't ask Kaka-sensei as he is going on a mission, not that he trains me much anyhow"

Tenten looked over at her friend; something really bothered him "What is it?"

Naruto put his hand behind his head and looked at the sky "I just realized in the fight against Haku that I rely way too much on my Shoton. There are multiple things I need to do; learn a real Taijutsu, not just the academy style, get better at my Fūinjutsu, learning some jutsu other than Shoton. For now the only jutsu other than Shoton I can use is Kage Bunshin, Henge and Fūton: Reppusho… I need to branch out more."

"Naruto!" a voice called from down the road. The two friends looked for who had called. They didn't have to look long as a pink mass of hair appeared out of the crowd. Sakura came up to them panting lightly "I finally found you"

Naruto blinked a few times before pointing at himself "me?" Tenten had an amused grin at her face

"Yes you" That's when she saw Tenten "oh, sorry. I didn't think you would be with anyone"

Tenten got a tick mark at that comment, but let it slide "No worries, right Naruto? We weren't doing anything special." Tenten raised her hand to shake with Sakura "Higarashi Tenten"

The rosette smiled friendly at the brunette "Haruno Sakura. Pleased to meet you". She turned her gaze to Naruto, opened her mouth and closed it again _'I can't believe I'm going to ask Naruto of all people to help me… But I must admit that he isn't the same Naruto he was in the academy… Oh well, here goes nothing'_ she sighed "Naruto, I have thought hard about what you said to me. You're right; I need to act more as a real Kunoichi. That will be the best way to help Sasuke… and you. I just felt so helpless back at the bridge. If you, Sasuke and Kakashi couldn't stop either of them, and they had headed for Tazuna, I could have done nothing to stop them… I need to get stronger." She still felt a knot in her stomach remembering the image of Naruto almost die protecting her and Tazuna. ' _I won't let that happen again._ '

A chibi version of Naruto was jumping in happiness on the inside, but remained calm on the outside. He didn't want to lose any respect he had just gotten in Sakura's eyes by acting like an idiot "That's really good to hear. But to be honest, I don't know if I can help you. I am much more of a Ninjutsu type. From what I've read, you see much more like a Genjutsu or medic-nin type, I personally would go with medic-nin. But Konoha only trains shinobi and Kunoichi in medicine and medic-jutsu after they have become Chunin due to the difficulty in chakra control. If I should give you any advice I would train that monstrous strength of yours, we both know how strong you are"

First Sakura blushed, but it quickly changed to an annoyed look "I'm not sure if that was a compliment or an insult".

Tenten rolled her eyes _'Boy, Naruto, you really know how to pick them'._ Tenten coughed to get the two's attention "From what I hear from Naruto, Kakashi is out on a mission, right?" the two members of team 7 nodded affirmative. "Well, Gai-sensei is also out on one, but as 'youthful' as he is, he didn't want his mission to impact our training, so he has arranged for us to train under a Yuuhi Kurenai in some stuff he isn't that good in. I'm sure that if you came with me, she wouldn't have a problem with you joining us" she finished smiling. Sakura accepted immediately, Naruto was more hesitant. It wasn't easy when not every grown up who was as forthcoming. Tenten noticed the look on Naruto's face again, one she had seen not so long ago. She knew it had something to do with what he wouldn't tell her "Come on Naruto, it will be fun. And then you can finally meet one of my teammates"

"One? Isn't your whole team coming?" Naruto asked, trying to get away from the subject they were approaching again.

"No. He is a Hyuuga, so he will be training with his clan. And don't change subjects, please come" Tenten said a bit pleadingly

Naruto sighed with a smile. She knew he couldn't deny her when she began to plead like that "Ok, ok, I'll come. Where and when?"

Tenten cheered mentally at her triumph "It's the day after tomorrow at training ground 3"

Naruto nodded "I'll be there. You will too, right Sakura-chan?"

"Yeah I will. I should go ask Sasuke if he want to come too. Well, I'll see you around" the female member of Team 7 said running off.

Naruto slumped forward and sighed when she was gone "of course you should…"

Tenten punched him lightly on the shoulder "Come on, cheer up. At least you have someone to train you"

"You're right, thanks" he looked up in the sun to calculate the time. It was beginning to become evening "It was really nice spending time with you again ten-chan, but I really got to go now."

Tenten nodded "That's ok. I should get back to the shop too. Well, I'll see you the day after tomorrow then?"

"You know you will"

\- Two days later -

Naruto and Sakura were walking through the forest of Konoha making their way to training ground 3. They had met up at the gate, or rather Sakura was walking through it when Naruto was running by and decided to walk with her. Sasuke hadn't come; he had apparently said in quite a colorful language that he didn't need help. Again this got to the blond, you might be the rookie of the year, but don't be a prick about it. It didn't take long for them to make it to their destination.

Naruto smiled and waved to greet the people on the grounds "Hey guys!" From what he could see they were some of the last to come, only missing Kiba and Kurenai.

Tenten looked over from where Naruto's voice had come from "Hey Naruto!"

"YOSH! SO I FINALLY MEET THE YOUTHFUL FRIEND YOU HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT TENTEN! I'M ROCK LEE, THE SECOND SEXY GREEN BEAST OF KONOHA!" Naruto blinked a few times at the sight in front of him. A boy around the same age as Tenten was standing in front of him in a 'nice-guy' pose. That alone wasn't weird, no it was the look he was going with. He was wearing a green full-body suit with orange leg-warmers, and he had the thickest eye-brows Naruto had ever seen, framed by bowl-cut black hair.

"Eh, nice to meet you Lee. I'm Uzumaki Naruto" Naruto said sheepishly, not really knowing how to react. Thankfully he didn't have to.

"OH, AND WHO IS THIS BEAUTY?" it came from Lee. He was currently looking at Sakura.

Sakura was hiding behind Naruto due to being as weirded as he was, "None of your business!"

Naruto shook his head at Sakura's antics. He made his way over to Tenten, Shino and Hinata as Lee began to declare his love for Sakura. "Hey Hinata, Shino. Where's Kiba?"

"H-hey Naruto-k-kun" it came from the Hyuuga heir before blushing deeply.

"Hello Naruto-san. Kiba won't be able to come today as he has caught the stomach-flu" Shino said in his usual monotone

Naruto grimaced "Ouch" he then turned towards Tenten "Ten-chan, have you asked Kurenai if it was ok for Sakura and I to join?"

"No she didn't. But I'll be ok with a few more, as long as there isn't more coming" a female voice sounded behind them. At the sound Lee immediately stopped his declarations and ran to Tenten, grabbed her arm and bowed in front of Kurenai, Tenten doing the same.

"Thank you for allowing us to attend this training session," Tenten said in a respectful voice as she straightened up. Lee didn't say anything, but nodded vigorously. "I hope you don't mind, but Naruto-kun's and Sakura-san's sensei is also out on a mission, so a brought them with me in the hopes if you would also train them"

Kurenai blinked, a little disconcerted by their extreme politeness. "That's all right, I'm happy to have you here."

Naruto bowed, not as deeply as the members of Team 9 "Thank you Kurenai-sensei". Sakura quickly did the same, not wanting to seem rude.

Kurenai nodded at them and then turned her gaze at her at the group in front of her _'Six Genin, huh? Kakashi and Gai, you really owe me after this. But it shouldn't be too hard with what I have planned for today.'_ She motioned for them to sit "Well, let's get started. A Genjutsu is a construct, composed of chakra, designed to deceive the senses…"

As she began with the standard academy introduction, Kurenai considered her audience. Shino was as impassive as ever, but she got a sense that his attention was unusually focused today, whether by the visitors, or by the subject matter was debatable. Hinata hadn't said a word since the newcomers arrived. Her Byakugan could see through most Genjutsu because the chakra would be directly visible to her. But she still paid close attention to the lecture. Kurenai wondered if she was aware of the small number of advanced techniques that could deceive the Hyuuga bloodline, if she expected her eyes to fail her when it counted most, or if she was just being polite. She was most surprised with Naruto. He was mostly focused on her words, though he did fidget a little as she talked. She had expected a lot more; she had heard he was full with energy, well she had actually heard he was a little demon who no one could stop, but all the same. Sakura had taken forward a notebook and was scribbling down every word she said.

In addition to being excruciatingly polite, Gai's students were most attentive.

Lee frowned a lot as she talked. She wondered if he was having difficulty following the material, since he probably hadn't studied Genjutsu much since discovering he couldn't mold the chakra necessary to create one.

Tenten, on the other hand, was almost starry-eyed. It took a while for Kurenai to understand why she had such an awed expression on her face. From what she'd heard, the girl was one of the more formidable new Kunoichi, deadly accurate with throwing weapons, and no slouch with melee weapons either. Still, she was on a team with a male Jounin and two boys, one of whom was the Hyuuga prodigy. It was likely that she'd questioned, at least once or twice, if a woman could be a successful ninja and advance to the Jounin rank. Girls were a noticeable minority at the academy, and the disparity only became more pronounced at the higher ranks. Kurenai realized, with an uncomfortable lurch, that the girl probably idolized her for her apparent success.

She shook it from her head. "Are there any questions?" she asked. When no one moved, she continued. "Now, as for identifying when you are being affected by a Genjutsu, remember it is limited by two things: the amount of chakra used, and the creator's imagination. Both of those factors mean that not every element of the illusion will be perfect. There's only a finite amount of chakra that can be used to create the sensory overlay, and it can't include anything the creator didn't think of. That means if you act or focus on things the creator didn't anticipate, you are more likely to notice discrepancies. Once your mind seizes on these differences, the battle is mostly won. You aren't fooled anymore, and now all you need to do is push back the curtain that has been drawn before you."

Noting the nodding heads before her, Kurenai posed a question. "One commonly known method of disrupting a Genjutsu is to wound yourself – the sudden pain can shock the senses and disrupt the overlay. But this is hardly an elegant solution, as someone in a dangerous situation hardly needs to be mutilating themselves. How else do you think this can be accomplished?"

Shino spoke up first. "Logically, if it is a chakra-based energy construct, the Genjutsu can be disrupted by the application of a similar form of energy."

"That is correct," Kurenai agreed, "but we're getting ahead of ourselves. What is an easier way to free oneself from such a construct?"

Lee and Naruto looked puzzled, and Tenten frowned. Surprisingly, Hinata hesitantly raised her hand. "A-Ano… if the construct is anchored to your personal chakra, would it be easier to just disrupt the anchors, rather than the whole thing?"

"That's very close," Kurenai agreed. "You can temporarily remove what the Genjutsu is anchored to. It's tricky if you don't have good chakra control, but if you can suppress your own chakra circulation for a split second, the Genjutsu will instantly fall away from you. This is a lot easier than trying to shatter a chakra construct that might have been made by someone considerably more powerful than you are.

With that, she demonstrated the seals, and with a sharp intake of breath, suppressed her chakra circulation to zero. Instantly, the sunlight dimmed, the sound of birdsong became fainter, and the feel of the warm sun on her face was muted. She blew out the breath, released her chakra, and everything quickly went back to normal.

She had each of them practice by themselves, then with her standing next to them, maintaining a level of blindness Genjutsu on them. Hinata, Sakura and, surprisingly, Lee picked it up immediately. After figuring out what they were doing wrong, Shino and Tenten soon mastered the technique.

Unfortunately, Naruto was never able to completely suppress his chakra. Kurenai suspected the Yondaime's seal and his tenant was the reason, but she couldn't discuss it in front of others. She had to settle for a sympathetic look as Naruto grumbled and sulked.

"K-Kurenai-sensei?" Hinata asked, glancing at Naruto. "Is there a way to remove a Genjutsu from another person?" Kurenai did not miss the look she sent Naruto's way, but the boy was too busy sulking to pay attention just yet.

"Well… there is, but it's a little trickier," Kurenai agreed. "Shino hit upon the principle earlier. You have to disrupt the chakra in the Genjutsu itself. The easiest way to do this is to draw in your chakra and push it down toward your hara, right below your navel. You collect as much as you can, and compress it into as tight a sphere as possible. Visualize it like a ball being squeezed and compressed from every direction. Once you have it packed as tightly as possible, release it all at once."

"Excuse me Kurenai-sensei, but wouldn't it hurt?" Sakura asked still writing.

"Not really," Kurenai assured her. "One, it is very difficult to gather a lot of energy that way. Also, it's still your chakra. It's attuned to your body, and until it's expected by a jutsu, it will just pass through your cells without damaging them."

"I can see how that might push away a Genjutsu anchored to me, but how will that help someone else?" Tenten asked curiously.

"Another very good question," Kurenai acknowledged with a nod. "When the chakra leaves your body, it will form a pulse, almost like a shockwave, that will extend a small distance, based upon how much chakra is used. That pulse can also disrupt any Genjutsu it encounters. However, it's difficult to generate enough power to make the pulse extend any great distance. Thus, you may have to be very close to the person you are trying to free," she concluded, ignoring the blush that suddenly spread across Hinata's face.

With that, Kurenai had them practice the harder method. Unsurprisingly, Lee could not perform this method at all. Tenten could do it, but the pulse only extended a few inches from her skin, the same with Sakura. Hinata concentrated for several moments, and then released a chakra pulse that extended over two feet from her body, after which she fell to her knees, gasping for breath.

Kurenai didn't often think about the Kyuubi, not even when it's Jinchurriki was standing right in front of her, training under her. It was locked away, sealed inside Naruto. As far as she knew it only gave him unnatural stamina and the hatred of the villagers, but it didn't control his mind or his soul. So it could be understood how she overlooked the affects her instructions would have on the vessel that contained the nine-tailed fox.

It wasn't until the frustrated Genin began to concentrate and an actually visible haze of blue chakra appeared around him, tinted purple at the edges, that the implications sank in. Kurenai opened her mouth to tell him to stop when he released the chakra pulse.

She instinctively threw up her hands as the energy washed over her. Her skin tingled and all the hairs on the back of her neck stood at attention, but there were no truly adverse effects. The air was filled with sound as the trees around them emptied of birds. Turning and looking across the clearing, Kurenai could see flocks of birds taking wing in the distance… and the faint shimmer in the air meant the pulse was still traveling.

She turned back around and saw everyone staring at Naruto. Tenten's and Sakura's mouths were hanging open, but Lee was giving him a v-for-victory sign. Shino's eyebrows were clearly visible above his sunglasses. Hinata's Byakugan was activated, and the expression on her face bordered on awe. Naruto gave his sensei a sheepish grin and shrugged as he scratched the back of his head.

Kurenai sighed. "I suppose if you aren't good at chakra suppression, you'd make up for it with chakra expression. We should try to finish this lesson before the ANBU get here to find out what happened."

\- A week later -

Naruto was on his way to bed. Kakashi had come back the previous day, and had pushed them to do three D-rank missions, and he was totally exhausted. He got in bed and started thinking of the last week, especially the expression of the others when he had released that Genjutsu release.

He had learned a few new things with Kurenai; his henge wasn't an ordinary henge. The ordinary henge is just an illusion that encompasses the user and change how one looks. What he did was actually making a real body. So in the last week he had learned a few more things about his abilities. He still hadn't learned any new jutsu per say, but now that Kakashi was back he was going to force him to train him. He yawned loudly, turned around and was fast asleep.


	8. Foreigners descend on the exam

**Chapter 8: Foreigners descend for the exams!**

Team 7 was walking through the gates of Konoha with a caravan in tow. They had been on a C-rank mission to escort and assigned to guard it while it was going through a quarter of Hi no Kuni. And once again the Chunin guards laughed at Naruto; his clothes had been singed in a Katon jutsu, and small patches were missing. Some shinobi had decided to try and rob the caravan a few miles from Konoha – rather stupid in Naruto's opinion – and of course he had been the only one hit by the only jutsu being cast.

Naruto dusted some cooling embers of his shirt "of course it was me he had to hit. It would be nice to walk into Konoha once without something having messed up my clothes! Last time it was a Suiton jutsu, the time before that a futon and I don't want to remember the time before that! Is one homecoming with my clothes intact too much to ask!?"

Kakashi waved his right hand in a dismissive manner "Ah, come on Naruto it isn't that bad"

The blonde shot his sensei a glare "Oh, and how would you know, oh great sensei? You never even look up from that damned porn"

The blond Genin didn't get an answer, and as such he just started brooding over his bad luck the rest of the way through Konoha. After they had dropped of their escort in the business part of Konoha, completing their mission, they made their way to the Hokage tower. Mission wise the last weeks hadn't gone bad. They still had the D-ranks, but the Hokage seemed to like their results on the C-ranks as they were getting more and more of those. So far they had completed 4 – 5 with this – C-ranks. They quickly reached the Hokage's office and knocked on the door to mark their entrance.

The old Hokage looked up from his stacks of paperwork "Ah Team 7. Back from another successful mission I take?" he paused at the sight of Naruto and sighed "what happened this time?"

Naruto crossed his arms. "Freakin' Katon jutsu" he answered in a scowl. Hiruzen shook his head in amusement.

Kakashi stepped forward, still reading his little orange book "Team 7 is reporting back from C-rank mission. The caravan have been successfully escorted through Hi no Kuni without any major incidents."

"Easy for you to say" Naruto mumbled behind him, but he didn't react on it. Sakura only giggled while Sasuke snorted amusingly.

The old Hokage nodded and wrote something down. He took a look at the paper he had been working on "I must say, I'm impressed with you. From all the teams of this year, you are doing by far the best." The statement cheered Naruto and the rest of his team up. Hiruzen mused as he puffed on his pipe a few times "Well, I think that will be all for now. Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, you are all dismissed. Kakashi I have some things to discuss with you"

The Genin of Team 7 responded with a 'Hai', bowed lightly, and disappeared out of the door.

Hiruzen walked up and activated a privacy seal "It has been some weeks since your last report. How is your team progressing?"

Kakashi clapped the book close and put it in his pouch. He looked thoughtful "They are all progressing nicely. Sasuke, as you know, has activated the Sharingan and I have been training him how to use it. His Taijutsu is also improving quite nicely, so is his chakra control. We haven't gotten to the point where we start with the Uchiha clan-jutsu. For now we focus mostly on Taijutsu for him to getting used to his Sharingan" Hiruzen nodded while blowing out some smoke from his pipe.

Kakashi continued "And Sakura, our rosette has really done a 180. She is actually trying. Though I'm focusing most on Sasuke, I have been observing her progress. She sometimes trains with Naruto to get some pointers, but she mostly trains herself. She is a natural at chakra control, so it seems she focus more on the physical aspects of being a shinobi. I haven't seen her train any Taijutsu, rather she trains her strength, doing all kinds of different workouts. Rather clever actually; she was already rather strong for a girl her age, heck for a girl any age, so by training that first she will get an ace." Kakashi paused to think "And when I think about it, she seems to have more energy than she had those first few weeks. It could of course just be from her training, but I think she is eating well now, rather than being on a diet and starving her body".

Hiruzen smiled "Ah, so we have another aspiring Kunoichi? That's good. I was a bit worried about the new generation's Kunoichi. Most of this year's graduates were not really suited for the life of a shinobi"

Kakashi nodded affirmative "Hai, it seems that way"

Hiruzen got a tad more serious. This was what he really was interested in "And what about Naruto"

Kakashi noticed the difference in the old Hokage's posture and speech pattern "Well, to be honest, I don't know a whole lot. You know that Jiraiya-Sama has taken to train him, when he is around that is. I try to follow them in the shadows, not that I could hide from a Sannin, but they seem to train in an area surrounded by chakra suppression and barrier seals. I have an idea of what they are doing in there, but as I said, I can't be sure"

"You think Jiraiya is training him in using the Kyuubi?"

"That would be my guess" Kakashi let it sink in "When Jiraiya is away Naruto uses one of the more secluded training grounds. He is really using the Kage Bunshin to its full potential. It seems like he has learned a new Taijutsu form, probably from Jiraiya, but I don't recognize it. He also seems to be practicing Fūinjutsu a lot. He is at least on level with someone who can use the restriction seal. He is also finally focusing on something more than just his Shoton. He has taken a liking to Fūton"

A gleam of approval flashed in Hiruzen's eyes "Fūton, huh?" the old man said with nostalgic written all over his face "Just like his father and mother… How adept is he in it?"

"I would say he is at skill level of someone having cut a third of a leaf. He certainly is more adept in Fūton than Doton. He is not really training his Doton as of now. My guess would be that he tried out both Doton and Fūton, and decided to train the element he was better at."

Hiruzen nodded at the information he had gotten "What about the Rasengan? Does he even know what jutsu he is learning yet?"

Kakashi shook his head "No it doesn't seem he does. He is at the final step; suppressing the sphere. It looks like it's almost complete, but he seems to be stuck. He just needs the last push"

Hiruzen leaned back in his chair and breathed deeply "He really is impressive. He isn't like Sasuke; whereas Sasuke is a genius, Naruto just works really hard. Not that I am saying Naruto is not as talented, but I wouldn't call him a genius"

"Hai" though agreeing to it, left a bitter taste in Sarutobi's mouth.

The old Hokage sat back up and looked the silver-haired Jounin straight in the eye "Just one more thing Kakashi. You know about the Jounin meeting this afternoon" Kakashi confirmed with a nod "don't be late. This isn't one you want to be late to"

Kakashi sighed "Alright, alright, I'll be there on time. Just this once"

Hiruzen nodded and began on his paperwork again "That was all. You're dismissed"

As his Jounin left the Sandaime's mind soon wondered as he stops working. Hiruzen's gaze went solemn as his mind recounted Kakashi's opinion between Naruto and Sasuke he leans back in his chair.

"Naruto truly does takes after you Kushina. And I have the nerve to act like his grandfather when I cannot properly acknowledge my own 'grandson'. True talent doesn't come from a clan, natural talent, or genetics. It comes from the drive to be the best at the craft you have chosen. And very much like you Kushina, Naruto has that in spades. Please forgive this old fool Naruto."

\- With Naruto -

Naruto was walking through Konoha towards the training grounds. After they had been dismissed the blonde had been around his apartment quickly to change. He had also sent a Kage Bunshin with his burned clothes to Higarashi. Normally he would have done it himself to see if Tenten was around, but he knew she wouldn't be at the store. The day Team 7 was setting out on their mission, she had told him that she and her team was going to participate in the Chunin-exams, and that their sensei would use every moment until the exams with training them. So the chances of Naruto running into her were rather slim.

Naruto frowned lightly when he thought about his own training _'It's so frustrating! I'm sure I'm really close to finishing that jutsu Ero-sennin is training me in, but I just can't give it the last push… And then there's the Shoton Bunshin. I just can't make it. I make the form, it gains my traits, but it's just a dummy, it won't and can't do anything. Maybe if I…'_

"Hey Naruto!" a female voice called him.

He turned around to see Sakura running towards him waving. He couldn't help but feel butterflies in his stomach. Little by little since they had come back from Nami no Kuni Sakura had accepted him more and more. She didn't call him an idiot or hit him that much anymore – which he was very thankful for. She had even joined him for training sometimes, where she fought against him or his clones. That way she was training her endurance with the never ending clones, and Naruto has been training her in the new Taijutsu style he had learned from a scroll he found. He waved back at the pink-haired Kunoichi "Hey Sakura-chan. Is something wrong?"

She made her way to her teammate "No, not at all. I was just wondering if you were going to train now."

He grinned at her "Do you even have to ask?"

She shook her head smiling "No, I guess not. Can I join you? I have a new trick I want to try out"

"Sure, but what about Sasuke?" Naruto asked while starting to walk again.

Sakura followed him "He is training with Kakashi as usual" she said a little harsh.

"Of course he is…" he said tiredly. Naruto couldn't blame Sakura, since he felt the same way; Kakashi was Team 7's sensei, not Uchiha Sasuke's personal guide. He could understand Kakashi taking some time for Sasuke, him being the only one able to train Sasuke about the Sharingan, but forgetting Sakura and him all together? That was pushing. They weren't mad at Sasuke, though he was sucking it up and not thinking about the team as a whole either, but at Kakashi. He was just glad that he can help Sakura could train by them or they would really be screwed.

They soon enough made it to training ground 43. Sakura politely waited while Naruto made the clones. Naruto made his way to the middle of the field and formed a familiar seal " _Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_!" Two-hundred-ish clones appeared. Already knowing what to do they split up; a third of them working on Jiraiya's balloons, a fourth working on Fūinjutsu, a fourth working on the Shoton Bunshin and the last were walking towards Sakura to get ready to train with her. Naruto also made his way to his female teammate.

Sakura looked over at all the Naruto's who had sat down and started writing "Naruto, what are those clones doing?"

The real Naruto looked over at which ones she was referring to "Oh, they are working on my Fūinjutsu"

Sakura eyes widened _'Fūinjutsu! He is working on Fūinjutsu!? I knew he was good; he is by far the best in our class now… Even better than Sasuke. But to work on something that advanced?'_ She shook the disbelief from her. She should be used to this by now; Naruto kept surprising her from the day they had graduated. If you had asked her in the academy is she would ever willingly train with Naruto she would have smacked them across the classroom for the insult. But now? She would never have gotten this far if it wasn't for him.

"Sakura-chan? Sakura-chan, are you ok?" Naruto asked waving a hand in front of her face

She blushed lightly. She must have spaced out "Oh, yeah I'm ok. I'm just surprised that you're working on something as advanced as Fūinjutsu… Wait, so you're making those sealing scrolls you're using by yourself?" He nodded "How many seals have you learned"

Naruto showed her an embarrassed grin while scratching the back of his head "well, I know sealing scroll, explosion tags, restriction seals and mild chakra suppression seals. But that's all. Fūinjutsu is some of the toughest I've ever done." She nodded at the information, just getting even more impressed. Naruto got into his stance "Well, shall we?"

She grinned at him "Oh, yes we shall". Shivers ran through all the clones around her.

\- Later that afternoon -

Naruto patted his behind "Ouch. You really have improved Sakura-chan" he said winching

She smiled proudly "Thanks"

"But how did you hit that hard? I mean, you left small craters for crying out loud" the blond Genin ask with a wondering expression.

"Chakra" she answered simply

Naruto's eyes lit up "Of course. That explains it. So you channel some chakra through your muscles making them stronger while you fight?"

"Yes" she nodded affirmative "but I can't do it for longer period of times, so I need training in that"

"I see…"

"Hey Naruto-nii chan!" a voice sounded behind them.

The two members of Team 7 turned around to see three eight-year olds standing and smiling to Naruto. It was Konohamaru, Moegi and Udon, or as they liked to call themselves, 'the Konohamaru corps'. Naruto kind of liked them. Konohamaru, the hyperactive leader with the longest scarf he had seen, Udon, the math genius/ geek, with a never ending cold, and Moegi the reasonable Kunoichi in training, with gravity-defying pigtails. He smiled back at them "Hey guys. What's up?"

Konohamaru looked deadpanned at him "Come on nii chan! Can't you remember? You promised to play shinobi with us when you came back from your mission!" Udon and Moegi nodded in agreement

Sakura turned to Naruto with a look that greatly resembled Konohamaru's "Really? A shinobi playing shinobi?"

"Ah, come on Sakura-chan. When you were in the academy didn't you ever want to play shinobi? And what better way to do it than with someone already a shinobi?" he answered not embarrassed at all.

The rosette shook her head smirking.

Konohamaru looked between the two older children. You could really see the wheels turn in his head. His eyes lit up "Oh boss! Is this your" he made a gesture with his pinky finger that all but screamed 'girlfriend'

Naruto quickly shook his hands in front of him in a defensive manner and shook his head "No, no! She is my teammate! Not my girlfriend!" He glanced over at Sakura; she had a tick mark, but seemed to calm down when Naruto denied it.'

Konohamaru took his hand and cupped his chin while nodding "I see. Guess it's because she's so flat-chested, right boss? Or, or! It's because she has that monstrously large forehead, right boss?"

Naruto looked at his little-brother figure in disbelief _'there is no saving you from this Konohamaru.'_ The blonde sighed "No, it's not because of either of those. Goodbye Konohamaru, it was nice knowing you"

Konohamaru gave him a puzzled look "Why? Are you going somewhere?"

"No, but you are" Naruto said and pointed lightly over at Sakura. Konohamaru glanced over at where Sakura should have been. What he saw instead he could've sworn was the death-god Shinigami.

It didn't take him more than a second to take off, with Sakura right behind him "I'M GOING TO KILL YOU BRAT!"

Moegi and Udon looked worried at Naruto. He sighed "Alright, I'll try to stop her. But if anything happens to me, it's on you guys" he said pointing at them before he took off "SAKURA-CHAN! PLEASE DON'T KILL HIM! HE WAS JUST KIDDING, RIGHT KONOHAMARU!?"

"R-RIGHT! SORRY SAKURA, I DIDN'T MEAN IT! NARUTOOO! HELP ME!" it came from the young Sarutobi as he tried to get away from the spitting image of the death god.

Naruto had caught up to them when Konohamaru turned a corner. He heard a 'humph'. Sakura seemed to have calmed a bit down from the running and looked wondering at Naruto. The blond Genin looked just as confused. They quickly turned the corner as well and saw what Konohamaru had run into. He was currently held up in his scarf.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here? A little brat going where he shouldn't" the boy Konohamaru had run into said. He was wearing a black and baggy full body suit, with a red and yellow circle in front. To top the look off he also wore a black hood with cat-like ears on it. What caught Naruto's attention was the hitai-ate on his forehead. Naruto narrowed his eyes _'Suna… I guess they're here for the Chunin exams. But that doesn't mean they can go around and do whatever they want'._

"Konohamaru" Moegi and Udon cried as they had just also turned the corner.

The Suna-shinobi tightened his grip "That hurt, brat"

"Stop it. We're going to get scolded later. We're not in Suna anymore" a female voice came from behind the foreigner. Naruto took a look at her _'She is rather pretty'_. She had dark green eyes, and blond hair, not far from the color he had, though a little darker, which was gathered in four ponytails.

Naruto stepped forward "Your teammate is right, Suna, let go of the boy"

Kankuro looked at the blond boy and saw the hitai-ate. He grinned mentally _'They must be Konoha Genin. Let's have some fun.'_ He stared hard at the boy in his hand "No, I think I better teach this brat a lesson before some noisy people come around."

Temari sighed "Kankuro, you're on your own with this. I won't be a part of this"

Kankuro ignored it and brought his free hand back, ready to throw a punch. That was Naruto's cue; he took off a lot faster than before. Before Kankuro could react Naruto had wrapped his hand around his wrist and twisted it, causing Kankuro to lose grip on Konohamaru. Naruto wasn't done; he twisted the arm behind his opponents back, while sweeping his feet, causing him to fall on his stomach. Naruto quickly conjured a kunai-like weapon with his Shoton and pointed it at the back of his neck "You should've listened to your teammate."

The Konohamaru-corps and the Suna-Genin looked in disbelief. Sakura, not so much, after all, she had been on the same team as Naruto for months, and trained with him. She looked hard at the two shinobi from Suna "Suna, why are you here? It's true that Konoha and Suna are allies, but you need a passport and reason if you want to be in Konoha"

Kankuro laughed lightly "How pathetic. You don't even know that the Chunin-exams are coming up?"

Naruto tightened his grip on Kankuro's arm, causing him to wince "And you are one to talk? We will have to take a look at your passports anyway"

Temari frowned "And why is that"

Naruto didn't look happy and half-glared at the girl "Even if you are here for the Chunin-exams, it doesn't give you right to go around and do whatever you please. As a shinobi of Konoha I can ask any foreigner to show their passport if I find suspicion that they are a danger, or do crime in Konoha. Your friend here" he nodded at Kankuro "have attacked a shinobi-in-training, the third Hokage's grandson none the less, a shinobi, and resisted giving your passports. So now, please, hand over your passports!"

Temari could see the boy wasn't kidding, and felt chills run down her spine when she heard who the boy her brother had almost mugged was "Kankuro, see! That's why I told you not to do it. I'm sorry Konoha" she said bowing "please let my brother go"

Naruto hesitated a bit, but did as she had asked. Kankuro stood up and dusted himself off. Naruto still was less than happy with her "And now your passports. Also the redhead up there" he made a gesture with his head towards a tree nearby. All the people around him looked surprised up at the place.

A red-haired boy were standing upside down in the tree "Temari, Kankuro, you are a disgrace to our village".

Temari looked a little scared "Gaara"

Gaara jumped down between them and handed over his passport to Naruto. Kankuro and Temari quickly did the same.

Naruto looked through them. As they had said, they were here for the Chunin-exams. Naruto's right brow lifted when he saw that they were the Kazekage's children, but that wasn't going to get them any special treatment. He searched his pouch and pulled up a pen. He channeled chakra through it to make ink and made a few notes. He handed the passports back "This will be reported. I will suggest that you hold a low profile while staying in Konoha. If you pull a prank like this again I can't promise that you will be able to stay"

"I'll make sure that there won't be any more problems" Gaara said bowing lightly. The dark green eyes met the bright blue. Naruto could feel something, maybe something familiar? He couldn't be sure.

He shook it off quickly and regained his serious face "Make sure of it". Gaara nodded before taking his team with him.

Naruto held his 'though guy' pose until he could feel the Suna-teams presences leave. He exhaled and turned towards the others with a smile "Konohamaru, are you ok?"

Konohamaru and his corps looked at Naruto with stars in their eyes. Konohamaru stepped out from his hiding place behind Sakura "Yeah I am. Boss, that was so cool!" Udon and Moegi quickly praising him with compliments, how he was a hero and how they bet he could kick those Suna-shinobi's asses if he wanted to.

Naruto grinned embarrassed, but stopped abruptly and looked up in another tree "Sasuke, you enjoying the view?"

Sasuke just replied with an 'hn'. He looked over the people there standing on a branch "I just came to tell you that for tomorrow we will have to meet Kakashi at the bridge". And with that he disappeared.

Naruto sighed _'Don't you ever get out of that asshole phase?'_ the blond swore he heard a loud scoff from his tenant, but nothing else.

He turned around to Sakura to see her clutch her hands near her heart, making his own break slightly "Don't worry about him". It didn't seem to help "Oh well, I'm going to get something to eat now, so see you tomorrow Sakura-chan."

"Yeah, see you tomorrow" she replied distantly

"HEY! What about us playing shinobi?" Konohamaru asked rather irritated

Naruto shrugged "Well, you can come with me, you paying for your own food of course, and we can do it after" he said and started to walk towards Ichiraku's. The Konohamaru-corps quickly ran after him while chattering about how cool he was.

\- At Konoha's main gate -

The Chunin-guards were having a busy day. The Chunin-exams were coming up, and Genin from all over the elemental continent were heading to Konoha to participate, and because of that there was a lot of extra work for the gate-guards. Yet another team was heading towards the gates of Konoha. But this was from Kiri, the first one they'd seen so far.

"So this is Konoha, huh? It's a lot different from… from home" Haku said. She was still getting used to the idea of having a home, and not just being on the move all the time.

"You're right. It's a lot different" Zabuza replied looking at the big gates. "The village of the tree hugging hippies," the Jounin chuckled being glared at by the guards.

Haku smiled "I hope I get to see Naruto while we're here"

"M-me too. You have t-talked a lot about this guy" it came from one of her teammates. His name was Kurosuki Chojuru and he was the same age as her; thirteen years old. He has short, tufty blue hair, and dark eyes. He also had pointed, shark-like teeth; a trait that Haku knew he was shy about, and wished he didn't have. He wears square, black-rimmed glasses connected to ear protectors, a blue pin-striped shirt, and camouflage pattern pants. Over his shirt he wears his forehead protector on the front of his holster, which he uses to carry his sword. Haku was rather impressed by how well he was handling his sword; it was a big broad one, one that couldn't be light. Many had talked about that he could be the next wielder of Hiramekarei. He also had a sharp mind for tactics. But as he was now he couldn't put it to full use; he was rather shy, even with all his talent.

"Bah, as long as you stop talking about it every five minutes! He can't be that remarkable" it came from her second teammate. His name was Ringo Kouhei, descendant of Ringo Ameyuri, one of the former Seven Ninja Swordsmen. He was slightly older than his two teammates; sixteen years old to their fifteen. In his year he was one of the best shinobi, but according to his clan, he is not something to boast about. He was rather short for their age-group, but had a very elegant build. He had large brown eyes, framed by long coffee-colored hair worn in a style that could resemble a waterfall. Kouhei was more of a Taijutsu expert, using a modified form of his clan's Taijutsu. His form emphasizes tormenting one's opponent and using blocks and counterstrikes. Although he was very proficient in it, he was not without weapon; he was always wearing a whip at his side, and he knew how to use it. He was also a very skilled in trap-laying, a skill which had saved them a few times. But because of his clan looking down on him, he was not quick to acknowledge others strength.

"That's where you are wrong" Zabuza said to his student "Not only did Naruto go toe to toe with Haku here, but he beat her. Given, he was rather beaten up himself; he came out of it victorious. And you both know how strong Haku is; you have only been able to beat her when you teamed up, and even then you lose when she uses her mirrors. Naruto beat her mirrors."

"He sounds s-scary… I hope I d-don't let you guys down" Chojuru said a little dejected

Kouhei didn't believe a word of it. That Naruto guy must just have been lucky "You're not getting to me with any of that crap. When I see him I'll decide whether he is strong or not"

Haku shook her head as her team made its way over to the booth and showed their passports. After they had gotten their approval they made their way into Konoha to find their hotel.

\- Half an hour later -

"BY THE GODS OMOI! YOU ARE NOT GOING TO DIE!" a voice sounded from the forest-line making the guards winces. They turned to look where the gods-awful voice came from. It was a dark-skinned Kunoichi with long red hair and amber eyes. She looked to be around thirteen or fourteen. She was wearing a long, short-sleeved dress with frilly edges and a flak jacket in Kumo style, two simple yellow earrings and fishnet stockings. To finish it off she had thigh-high boots with white soles and she wore her hitai-ate as a bandanna. It didn't take long for the guards to conclude that the team coming was from Kumo. The Chunin frowned; Kumo and Konoha had severed all but the most basic communication lines, after Kumo had used what was supposed to be a peace-treaty to attempt a kidnap on the Hyuuga heir.

"But Karui, what if Kono-" Omoi tried

"NO!" she yelled at him before slamming him on top of the head. Even if he was from Kumo, the guards couldn't help but feel sympathy for the poor guy. He had just as dark skin as his teammate, and looked to be the same age, but he had short, spiky, white hair and dark eyes that curved slightly upwards. He was wearing a dark outfit consisting of an overlong shirt with a hood, red bandage as hand guards, shin guards Kumogakure style and a black hitai-ate. He also seemed to have a thing for lollipops, as he had just finished one, but it was replaced within a second.

"Would you two please calm down! We are representing Kumogakure, and Konoha and Kumo haven't exactly been best friends the last few years" a third voice sounded, drawing the guard's eyes away from the bickering couple. Their mouths instantly watered; behind the two dark skinned shinobi were standing what they only could describe as beautiful. It was another girl, probably around sixteen or so. She had long, straight, blond hair, close to the color of the Yamanaka's hair. It was bound with tight bandages in a ponytail, before falling free to around her waist. She was wearing a short-sleeved black and purple blouse, black pants, both of which had cloud-like designs on them. Around her hands were purple fingerless gloves, and a chain of white beads wound around her left hand. Around her arms and legs she wore bandages, and around her waist a red belt. Around her forehead, keeping her hair from falling into her face, she wore the Kumo hitai-ate.

"Yugito is right you know" a fourth voice sounded. The team was finally together "Raikage-Sama has sent us here to make the relation between our villages better. Whether Konoha wants to acknowledge it or not, the Hyuuga incident wasn't on his orders, though I can't blame them that they don't believe it. If it had been the other way around I can't say we would have reacted as well as they did. So you guys are not only here as participants in the Chunin exams, but also diplomats."

The guards had all but forgotten Yugito now. The last member of the Kumo team seemed to be as older than Yugito by two years. She had fair skin and tall of stature, with lots of curves, especially her breasts. She had blue eyes and straight blond her, framing her face with a shorter cut in the back, and the front bangs reaching her shoulders. She was wearing a very low-cut outfit with mesh underneath, a short skirt and red hand-guards, high boots and what the guards guessed to be a modified Kumogakure flak jacket that only covered her stomach, not very different than that of a girdle.

"Yes, yes Neechan" Karui answered with a dismissive wave "I know that you have already taken the exam and all, but I can't understand why B-sensei couldn't come himself"

"Because of Yugito. I mean, try to imagine two of her kind, no offense to you Yugito, in a foreign village. Add to it that Konoha also has its own, I mean, what if they all lost control, and they wiped Konoha from the map. The other villages would demand them executed, and we wouldn't have a choice, and then there would be another big War, since Hi no Kuni would be unprotected, and then-"

"Gah! I get it already Omoi!" Karui cried out

"You two, stop it now! Act more cool, more like a shinobi of Kumo!" she said to them before going over to the booth and handed over the passports. She quickly got them back, and took her team to downtown Konoha, where they would be staying.

\- In the Jounin meeting lounge -

Hiruzen Sarutobi was sitting in his chair looking over all the Jounin-sensei's. He had already declared the Chunin-exams a little over a week ago, and there was only one more thing to do. He puffed a few more times on his pipe "Now that the Chunin-exams are soon upon us, will the Jounin-sensei with this year's Genin step forward". Three Jounin in the front row walked forward "Kakashi, Kurenai, and Asuma. As you know, any Genin who has completed more than twelve missions is eligible to enter the exam, though the new Genin's can only do it through your recommendations. But, as I'm sure you all know, it is rare for new Genin to be in the exams. Normally the Jounin-sensei in charge waits till they have completed at least a year of training" he paused, puffing on his pipe again, and letting what he had said sink in "Is there any Genin on your teams, who you think are ready?

Kakashi moved his right arm up in a half ram seal, a tradition when nominating someone to the exams, and began restate the words for nominating "From Team 7 that I lead, Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto, and Haruno Sakura. I recommend those three to the Chunin-exams under my name, Hatake Kakashi".

Murmurs ran through the room, but were soon silenced as Kurenai took the same position as Kakashi had "From Team 8 that I lead, Hyuuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba, and Aburame Shino. I recommend those three to the Chunin-exams under my name, Yuuhi Kurenai"

The crowd didn't have time to start again, as Asuma took the same pose as the others "From Team 10 that I lead, Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru, and Akamichi Chouji. I recommend those three to the Chunin-exams under my name, Sarutobi Asuma".

As the last of the new Jounin-sensei's finished the crowd erupted in talk. Stuff likes 'all three gave their recommendations!', and 'It's been a couple of years since rookies have appeared in the Chunin exams' ran through the Jounin. Some looked less pleased than others, but none interjected. The old Hokage nodded "Very well. It's settled then, Hatake Kakashi's Team 7, Yuuhi Kurenai's Team 8, and Sarutobi Asuma's Team 10, will be given the chance of joining the Chunin-exams." He nodded to himself "Now that that's settled, let's move on to…"

\- Next morning at the bridge -

The Genin of Team 7 had only waited for about 20 minutes when their sensei appeared in a puff of smoke on the top of the bridge. All quickly tensed, as their sensei only ever showed close to be on time when something serious was going on. When Kakashi saw this, he lazily waved "Relax, relax. Nothing is going on, you can get out of your stances" when he saw them relax he continued. "Well, I'll get right to the point. I have recommended you all to the Chunin-exams, so…" he searched his pouch and took out three application-papers "Here, take these applications. But as I said, I have only recommended you, so it's up to you guys if you want to give it a go or not." The three Genin took the applications as he continued "If you want to participate, then you sign the papers, and meet at the academy the first of July 3p.m, and go to room 301. That's in three days."

The Genin nodded and took a look at their applications. Kakashi continued "furthermore, because the Chunin exams are held here, I can't train or help you before the second exam is complete. Due to the number of foreign shinobi in the village, more Konoha-shinobi has been called to duty as patrols. So, decide well. C-ya" and with that he puffed away.

Before Sakura and Naruto could even talk to him, Sasuke had also disappeared, causing Sakura to sigh heavily. She leaned on the railing beside Naruto, whom seemed to be in deep thought. She looked at him wonderingly "I thought you would be jumping up and down in happiness. This is just what you want, isn't it?"

Naruto breathed deeply and looked up in the sky "Yes it is. But, I'm not sure if I'm ready. Tenten and her team are also in the exams, for the first time, and they have had a lot more training than we have. We will most likely be the most inexperienced Genin there, unless the others from our year join the exam, but even then, they too are some of the most inexperienced."

"Oh" was all Sakura could say

"Yeah" Naruto replied, still looking at the clouds. "But on the other hand, this is our chance to show what we got. I mean, I want to show everyone from our year that I'm not 'dead-last' anymore. I can't take how condescending they talk to me, well apart from Shika, Chouji, Hinata, and Shino. And I bet you want to show Ino how strong you have become?"

Sakura smiled when she thought about how Ino would react "Yeah, can't wait to see her face when I beat her"

Naruto got up and started walking, but stopped halfway off the bridge "I guess it's something we have to decide for ourselves. Let's just agree on that we won't blame the other for whatever we chose. Deal?"

Sakura nodded "Deal"

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Chakra suppression seal: A seal that suppresses chakra. It can either be put on a person to suppress the individual's chakra, or put in a formation around an area to prevent any chakra to leak out, or being detected.

Barrier Seal: You set up seals in a formation around an area to prevent anything or anyone to get in or out without 'the key'.

Restriction Seal: A seal that makes it harder for the user to walk around. It has 100 levels, each level being a lot harder than the previous. The user can use it as training, forcing the body to use a lot more energy on walking around.

Rasengan - Spiraling Sphere: The Rasengan is a powerful A-rank technique invented by the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, which he created by observing the Tailed Beast Ball. Minato spent three years developing the Rasengan; his plan was to take the shape transformation of one's chakra to the "highest possible point" and then combine it with his chakra's nature affinity, creating a technique that did not need the aid of time-consuming hand seals to control. He died before he could accomplish this, but on shape transformation alone, the Rasengan is still a very useful, powerful, versatile, and difficult technique to learn and master.


	9. Chunin exams are here

**Chapter 9: Chunin exams are here! First exam start!**

The sun was finally peeking over the mountains of Konoha, and was shining directly through a window, and landing on a very special Genin. Naruto rolled over groaning, trying to hide from the sun a few more minutes. He was lying like that for thirty seconds or so, before peeking on the clock; it was showing 7:43 a.m. Naruto rolled his eyes _'of course. The day I decide to sleep in till around eleven I wake up early. Just my luck… Back to bed I guess'._ Naruto threw a pillow over his face again, trying to get some more sleep. After what seemed like hours to him, he fluttered an eye open lightly, to look at the ever ticking clock. 7:52 a.m. He threw off the comforter and sat up in bed "fuck this."

Normally he would have been up in the early hours, training his ass off until his team would meet, but since today was everything but normal, he had planned slept in to when the normal citizen would have woken. He could see he would have none that. He sighed and started a mild morning routine: 400 sit-ups, 400 pull-ups, 400 push-ups, and 400 squats. Normally he would have done twice as much, but since today was the day of the exams, he wouldn't want to over exert himself. After he was done he went to the bathroom and did his business. For once he could actually enjoy his shower, instead of rushing through it.

He came out of the steaming bathroom with a towel around the waist, and headed for the kitchen. It took him real self-restraint not to just take one of the ramen cups, but actually making some healthy breakfast. He sighed once again; he knew he needed to eat healthier if he wanted to grow. He set some eggs and bacon over, and headed for his closet.

A few minutes later he was sitting at the table, enjoying his breakfast and the quiet morning. He took a quick look over the apartment; there were a few pieces of clothes here and there, but overall it was rather neat. His eyes went over his picture-wall. A smile crept over his lips; there was one of him and Tenten in the ramen stand, taken by Ayame. He really couldn't believe he had gotten such a good friend.

A bit to the left of that was one of his team and him. Kakashi was in the back, looking 'cool' as ever. In front of him was Sakura, trying to look as cute as possible. To her right Sasuke was standing, looking as broody as he could. The blond showing a confident smile, fearless as to tell the world, 'Bring it on'!

Further to the left of that was one of him and Sakura training. Sakura was throwing one of her mean left hooks at Naruto, whom were bracing himself with a cross-guard. In the background you could see hordes of his Kage Bunshin, training in various subjects.

On top of all the other photos was his ninja registration photo. He frowned a bit _'I'm happy with the photo, but right now I wish I had just let them take a normal one. It doesn't exactly take a genius to figure out that I have some sort of Kekkai Genkai; all they need is one look… No wonder Jiji were hesitant about allowing it. I just hope no one in the exams have found out. It would be nice to have it as an ace. If not… I'll burn that bridge when I reach it.'_

He got up from the table and threw the dishes in the wash. Even he wasn't pressed for time he couldn't be bothered with it. He glanced over at the clock; it showed 9:14 a.m. He still had hours before he was supposed to meet his team. He walked towards the door. He knew he couldn't stay in his 'apartment' for so long. He could just as well use the time walking around in the village.

\- A few hours later -

Naruto was walking down one of the many streets of Konoha, heading for Ichiraku Ramen. He looked around on the main-road; it was even more crowded than normal. It was the day of the Chunin exams after all, and people from all over the elemental nations had migrated to Konoha during the last weeks, to see what the next generation of shinobi had to offer. Stands were being erected all the way down the road, selling everything from food to charms to betting-coupons. Naruto was currently checking out said stands, and enjoying the lack of glares from the unknowing foreigners.

The whisker-cheek boy took a look at the suns position _'It's about 1:30 p.m. I have to be at the academy at 3 p.m. sharp, and it wouldn't hurt to get there a little earlier and see what kind of Genin we will go up against…'_

"Naruto! Hey, Naruto!"

The blond turned around to see who were calling him, and a big smile spread out on his face "Iruka-sensei! Long time, no see, huh?"

The scarred academy instructor ran up to his little-brother figure "Yeah, you can say that again. I haven't seen you since after we had that ramen, after your mission to Nami."

Naruto scratched the back of his head and laughed embarrassedly "Sorry about that Iruka-sensei. I have been kind of busy lately, a lot of mission you know"

Iruka grinned at the blond Genin "Yeah, I know. You're only missing a Doton jutsu know, right?"

The Genin in front of Iruka looked at him questioning "What do you mean?"

"You know, your clothes have been soaked by a Suiton, burned by a Katon, crisped by a Raiton, and sliced by futon. So you're only missing a Doton now, right? I wonder what that would do to your clothes"

Naruto's face got red in embarrassment as he glared at his big-brother figure "Who told you!?"

The scarred Chunin kept grinning at the smaller Konoha-nin "Oh, just an old monkey"

Naruto knew right away who he was referring to "I'm going to kill you Jiji!"

Iruka was having a real hard time to not laugh, but was holding in it "Well Naruto, now that I have that out of my system, you want to grab some Ichiraku's?"

Naruto wasn't completely over the tease, but eased the glare "I have already had breakfast, but I guess I could go for a bowl or two. I mean, it is Ichiraku's after all."

\- Forty minutes later -

"Ah, that hit the spot!" Naruto said, as he finished slurping the last of the ramen from the bowl, putting it down on the table, before ordering another. Iruka sweat dropped as of now there was eight empty bowls on the table – and none of them was his.

He shook his head lightly while smiling "and here I thought I could leave without an empty wallet for once. Oh well"

Naruto laughed "Sorry 'bout that sensei"

"You know, you don't have to call me sensei anymore"

The blond Uzumaki shrugged "for me you will always be Iruka-sensei. That's not ever going to change, not even when I'm the Godaime Hokage!"

Iruka laughed and ruffled the blond Genin's hair. "Now, now, take one step at a time. You first have to make Chunin, remember?"

The whiskered kid nodded vigorously "Yep. But that isn't going to become a problem" he paused "Iruka-sensei"

The blond had changed his tone rather fast, catching the scarred Chunin off-guard "What is it Naruto?"

"Do you have any advice for the Chunin exams? You must've already taken it, obviously" Naruto asked

Iruka got a nostalgic look on his face "Well, the exam changes each time, though the basics remain the same. I can't help you too much, that wouldn't be fair for the other Genin, but this I can tell you. I'm sure you've heard it before, but 'look underneath-"

"'look underneath the underneath', yeah I've heard it before…" Naruto finished his ninth bowl of ramen, slurping and licking it clean "oh well, I better get going now. If I get there before time, I might have a chance of getting some information on the other Genin"

Iruka nodded approvingly and smiled at Naruto "Good luck"

Naruto jumped down from his chair, and showed Iruka one of his most brilliant smiles "Thanks sensei. Just you wait; I'll become Hokage in no time"

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Naruto was walking towards the academy in his own pace – he was after all in good time – when he heard a commotion from one of the café's on the road. Sounded like someone was in a hurry, but Naruto didn't pay much attention to it. That was, until he was just outside the café, and a boy came running towards him and didn't stop. Needless to say, the result was the two boys colliding and landing on the road.

"I-I'm so sorry!" the boy who had bumped into Naruto said while bowing apologizing

Naruto got up smiling and dusted himself off "Hey, no sweat. It was just an accident"

"Kouhei! I told you not to threaten him like that!" it came from inside the restaurant

Naruto looked over the boys shoulder "I know that voice…"

And with that two other figures came out from the café; a boy and a girl. "Well, we wouldn't be late if Zabuza-sensei hadn't disappeared like that. Now we have to find the exam building by ourselves" it came from the boy

The girl sighed "I know, but you know ho-"

"Haku!" Naruto half yelled happily

Haku stopped in midsentence and looked at where the voice had come from. When she saw Naruto a big smiled spread on her face "Naruto-kun!" and ran over to him and gave him a big hug, which he happily returned.

She stepped back blushing, a little embarrassed with her forwardness. Naruto for the first time took a good look at her; she really looked like a girl now. She was wearing the same clothes, but she didn't wrap clothes around to hide her breast, and she wore her hair down. He smiled at her "How have you been? Is Zabuza here too?"

She nodded "Yes he is, but I don't exactly know where he is. As for me, I'm doing rather well. Kiri has really changed, and we were accepted with open arms; they were more than happy to see one of the Seven Swordsmen and the last survivor of Yuki clan return. Mizukage-Sama even let him become a sensei, and put me on his team". She continued like that, with Naruto asking a few question here and there, and answering question himself, until there was a loud cough behind her.

"You mind introducing us Haku?" it came from the elder of the two boys

"Sorry, yes of course" Haku mentally bashed herself for forgetting all about her teammates "Naruto, this is my teammates Ringo Kouhei" she motioned to the elder of the boys "and Kurosuki Chojuru" she motioned to the blue-haired boy, who was bowing.

Naruto nodded to them "nice to meet you, I'm Uzumaki Naruto". Kouhei simply nodded at him, his eyes never leaving the Konoha Genin. Naruto didn't miss it, but let it slide for now.

Chojuru was much friendlier "It's nice to finally meet you Naruto-san. Haku has told us much about you"

Naruto smirked to a slightly blushing Haku "She has now, has she?" he paused "now that we've been introduced, do you mind telling me what all the commotion before was about?"

Haku sighed "As you've probably guessed, we're here for the Chunin exams, but Zabuza-Sama left a little while ago, and we only know the exams are supposed to be hold at the academy. But we have no idea where that is"

The whiskered boy smiled at them "I can take you there. I was on my way there myself. It's no far"

"T-thank you Naruto-san" Chojuru said, bowing yet again, making Naruto sweat drop

 _'This kid needs some more confidence'_. Naruto noticed the suns position, having used way more time than he had planned.

"We better get going if want to get there in time. It's already around half past two" he said as he began walking towards the academy. It was a short trip there; it was only two blocks away.

Haku and her team was walking not far behind him "So, Naruto-san, a-are you and your team participating in the exam too?"

Naruto nodded "You bet we are. You better watch out; we're going to graduate this whole thing with top grades". Kouhei scoffed, causing Naruto to raise an eyebrow "You don't believe we can do it, Ringo-san?"

Kouhei shrugged "Why should you. From what Haku said, you're just rookies."

"K-Kouhei, that wasn't nice" Chojuru said lowly as Haku was looking harshly at their teammate

But it didn't seem to affect Naruto "If you keep thinking like that, you're in for a big surprise. By the way Haku" he said, catching her attention "do you mind keeping my… gift a secret from other teams? It would be nice to have an ace."

She nodded "Sure Naruto-kun"

They walked a little further. "Here we are" Naruto said with a smile, his back to the buildings.

"Naruto!" the voice of his teammate called. Naruto turned to look after his pink-haired friend who were running towards him "Naruto, I thought we decided to get here earlier to get some information on the other teams"

Naruto waved at her "Hey Sakura-chan. Sorry for not being here earlier, but look who I ran into" he said as he stepped aside, revealing the Hyoton user.

Sakura's eyebrows rose in recognition "Oh it's you. Haku, right?"

Haku nodded "Hai. And these are my teammates Ringo Kouhei and Kurosuki Chojuru"

The rosette greeted them and turned to Naruto "We should be going now. Sasuke-kun is getting impatient"

Naruto nodded "alright. We'll see you later then"

"S-see you late Naruto-san"

"Yeah, see you Naruto-kun, Sakura-san"

Nothing more was said, as Sakura was towing Naruto after her into the building. A few weeks ago it wouldn't have been a problem for Naruto, but Sakura had gotten a lot stronger. They walked in to a very impatient-looking Sasuke "Where were you dobe? I almost thought you chickened out"

"As if. You're not getting rid of me that easily" Naruto retorted. All he got in return was a scoff as Sasuke started walking towards the stairs. Naruto sighed and followed with Sakura.

They had made it to second floor. Naruto glanced to see if she had noticed what he had. She nodded lightly, only enough for those closest to her to catch on. There was a Genjutsu cast on them as they had walked into the hallway. The question was what it did. Naruto didn't have to look long, as he saw a group of kids standing in front of two others, who were blocking a door to what looked like to be room 301. But they were only on the second floor _'So, the testing starts already now. This must be to weed the weakest out.'_

They heard a thud and a gasp from the crowd. They went to look at what was going on: Lee was sitting on the floor; obviously it was him who had made the thud sound, with Tenten kneeling down beside him. It didn't take long for Naruto to figure out that they were doing what he was planning to do; hide their true strength till they needed it.

"You're trying to make Chunin with that kind of skill? Maybe you should just quit" it came from one of the boys who were blocking the door

"You're just kids after all" it then came from the second.

Tenten got up from her kneeling position "please, let us through". She stepped forward to go between them. But they wouldn't have any of that. The one on the right raised his fist to hit her. She squinted, acting like the amateur they were trying to look like. But instead of the slight pain she had expected, she felt a tuck in her arm, and the feeling of spinning in the air. When she opened her eyes she was in Naruto's arms.

He quickly put her down "Hey Ten-chan. been a while, huh?"

She blinked a few times "Naruto? What are you doing here? Wait, are you guys taking the exam too?"

He nodded "Yeah we are. I would have told you, but I haven't been able to find you the last couple of days"

She nodded thoughtfully, then lowered her voice "Why did you 'rescue' me. You have to know that we are just pretending"

"Of course I know, but I just can't stand by and let one of my most precious persons get hurt – no matter if it's just a bruise on the cheek" he replied. She blushed lightly

"Dobe! First you show up this late, and now you're showing off skills? It was your idea not to let the other Genin in on what we can do. And who is this person?" Sasuke hissed

Tenten looked the raven-haired boy up and down, and saw Sakura standing behind him stealing glances. She leaned over to Naruto, having laid two and two together "Sasuke?"

Naruto sighed with closed eyes "Sasuke"

"Well dobe? What do you have to say for yourself?" Sasuke tried again.

Sakura came up beside him "Come on Sasuke, he was just helping a friend"

Both Naruto and Sasuke looked with shock in their faces on Sakura. It took her a few seconds to figure out why; she had just contradicted what Sasuke had said!

Sasuke scoffed, but let it go "Whatever. Let's just get going"

In the meantime another Genin had tried to pass the two. He got a kick in the stomach and landed on his butt harshly. "How cruel" it came from one of the Genin watching.

One of the boy's eyebrow twitched "What did you say? Listen up; we're being kind to you. The Chunin exams are like nothing you have experienced before – it's not just a stroll in the park."

"We have seen Genin who have given up being shinobi, become seriously injured, or even killed in the exams" the other continued

"A Chunin will receive missions where they are the commander. That means they are responsible for any failed missions, or any comrades' death, if it should happen! To think that Genin of your skill level is even trying to enter the exams…" the boy even looked a little disgusted by the notion.

The second boy put a hand on his shoulder to calm him down, and then continued "With that in mind, what's wrong with sifting out those who aren't going to pass anyway? It would spare a lot of people a lot of time."

Sasuke stepped forward "That's a sound argument, but I will pass." He paused a second "And undo the Genjutsu field, it's rather annoying, I want to go to the third floor". Naruto sighed once again _'you just had to point that out, huh Sasuke?'_ They're kind of right; if these Genin can't discover such a low level Genjutsu, then they don't have what it takes to become Chunin.

The other Genin had other thoughts running through their heads. They had no idea what he was talking about; they were on the third floor. You could see it by the room number; it was 301, not 201.

The two boys seemed disappointed that their trick hadn't fooled everyone "So you noticed"

It was Sakura who spoke up "Of course we noticed it. You don't expect to fool everyone with a low-level Genjutsu like that, do you? We are only on the second floor"

As soon as she said it the boys released the Genjutsu. No reason to keep a jutsu up which fools no-one. The first boys' posture changed; whereas before it was just taunting, this said that he had no problem with getting into a fight. The boy smirked "You're pretty good, but that won't be enough" he said and took off. Sasuke was never one to say no to a fight and took off as well. Their kicks were just about to hit the other when a green blur stopped them; Lee. Sasuke eyes shot open in surprise _'He's fast. And he is different from the person who was just hit moments ago'._

Neji came over to the group, having stood with lee before "You two broke your promise". He looked at Lee "It was you who didn't want to draw attention by doing something that stands out."

Lee didn't answer but just took a look at Sakura. Tenten sighed "Sakura again? I think she has made it pretty clear that she isn't interested"

Neji looked Sasuke over "Hey you there. Identify yourself"

Sasuke didn't look fazed by Neji's attitude "You're supposed to introduce yourself, first you know". With that the two Genin started a game of wits, trying to get the other to tell their name first.

Naruto leaned to Tenten "So, Neji?"

She nodded "Neji"

"Sasuke-kun, Naruto, let's go. We need to be there soon" Sakura said. Naruto bid Tenten and Lee farewell, and walked with Sakura and Sasuke up the stairs.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

They reached the third floor not long after, to find Kakashi standing in front of the doors to the examination room. He looked his team in the eyes; each of them was filled with determination, even Sakura's, a look more and more common in her eyes. He clapped his book closed "Good, you've all showed up. You can now enter the Chunin exams"

Naruto didn't miss how he had said it "And what would have happened if only two or one of us had showed?"

"You wouldn't be able to enter. You can only enter the Chunin exams in teams of three. Some exceptions are made, but none of you are qualified for them. But none of that matters now; you have all showed, and you can enter. Good luck" he said and stepped aside.

They stepped inside and were shocked at what they saw. There must have been more than a hundred Genin staring at them right now, or more like glaring. Naruto looked at Sakura whom showed real nerves. He gently tapped her on the arm to get her attention; they looked at each other and nodded. It seemed to help her. She looked back at them _'They all look so strong. And as Naruto said; we are just rookies. They all have more experience than we'._

"Sasuke-kun, you're late!" a seducing voice sounded, bringing all three out of their respective thoughts. Ino jumped at Sasuke hugging him, and making sure her assets were firmly pressed against his back "I've been eagerly waiting for you, ever since I heard that you would be participating in the exams too. It has been such a long time since I've seen you!"

Sakura was glaring right at Ino, who hadn't even had the decency to notice Naruto or Sakura "Get away from Sasuke-kun, Ino-pig!"

Ino responded with a just a deadly glare "oh my, it's you, Sakura. Your forehead is as wide as ever, and you're still… What the hell happened to you!?"

First Naruto was confused at the response. He took a quick glance at Sakura; she looked as pretty as always, or what? He took a closer look; she did look different than in the academy. She wasn't as skinny as before, not that she was fat, but she had muscles now. Not bulging muscles, but you could see she had trained. Sakura just scoffed "It's called training, Ino-pig. Maybe you should try it sometimes?" Ino just stuck her tongue out at Sakura, still clinging to Sasuke.

"What, are you three going to take this troublesome exam too?" a new voice sounded. Naruto immediately recognized it as Shikamaru, heir to the Nara clan.

"What? You don't think we can do it, Shika?" Naruto responded

Shikamaru sighed, mumbling something that sounded like 'troublesome blond'. Beside him stood Chouji munching on a bag of chips.

"Yeah, I found the whole pack" half yelled another voice. Naruto turned to see Kiba and his team standing behind him "So I see that everyone is here."

"Hello…" Hinata said in a very low voice. Naruto noticed and look her directly in her eyes, until she blushed and looked away. Last there was Shino, just standing there, not letting any emotion show.

"What? So you made it too? Troublesome…" it came from Shikamaru

Kiba grinned "I see, so all the nine Genin rookies are going to take the exam. We will rock it!" Naruto cringed lightly; Kiba was speaking really loud, catching the attention of the whole room. They would get enough attention as it was, just by being the only rookies this year, they didn't need to seem dump too.

"Dog-breath, keep your voice down! You're drawing unwanted attention to us!" Naruto hissed. The other rookies looked at him like he had grown a second head; he had actually said something that made sense.

But Kiba wasn't convinced "yeah right, as if you could figure something like that out, dead-last"

Naruto glared at Kiba; he had always picked on Naruto in the academy, and it didn't seem like that had changed "If you keep thinking like that, you won't last long". There was a silence as the two glared at each other.

"Hey you guys" yet another voice called. They turned to see an older silver-haired Genin walking their way "You should keep quiet. You're drawing attention to yourself"

"See?" Naruto said to Kiba. He only got a glare in response.

The silver-haired looked at the rookie 9 "I'm Yakushi Kabuto. You must be the nine rookies that just graduated from the academy a few months ago, correct? You're all fooling around with those cute faces… Geez, this isn't a field trip"

"And why should we trust you? As you just said; this isn't a field trip. Don't trust anyone, and don't expect to be trusted" Naruto said, again getting looks from his old class-mates

Kabuto smiled "You're right, but I'm also a Konoha Genin" he said, tapping his hitai-ate as proof "I just thought I would give you some advice, since this is your first exam. But if that isn't enough, take a look around"

And so they did; almost every team were looking their way, listening intently at what they were saying. Naruto caught glimpse of Haku and her team, and nodded at them, the same with Tenten. Then he saw a team from Kumo, or more exactly, one of the Genin. She was tall, probably three years older than him. They got into eye-contact, and a sort of trance just started. Naruto was memorized by the eyes, or more likely the look in her eyes. It was as they had known each other for years. He also felt that same familiarity, he had felt with that Gaara guy.

"…to. Naruto! There you are" Sakura said, hitting him a bit on the shoulder to get his attention.

He blinked a few times and looked at his female teammate "huh? Something wrong, Sakura?"

Sakura looked at him "You just spaced out. Did something happen?"

Naruto shook his head, trying to get it back on track "No, nothing happened. Sorry"

Sakura turned back to Kabuto. "Kabuto-san, was it?" she asked, receiving a nod "is this your second time, then?"

"No. It's my seventh time" the rookies were stunned. "These exams only take place twice every year, and it's my fourth year."

"That would mean you know a lot about the exams, right?" Sakura asked

"Right" Kabuto smiled

Shikamaru wasn't so convinced "but he hasn't passed yet. He can't be that good"

"Or it means that the exams are harder than you think" he retorted, resulting in another 'troublesome' from Shikamaru.

"But as I said, I'm here to help you" he took out a set of cards "all the times I have been in these exams I have gathered information on the different Genin teams, and the Genin themselves. Just ask for anyone you want to know something about, and I'll tell you"

Sasuke weren't going to let free information slide by "then show me Gaara of Suna, Rock Lee of Konoha, and… Uzumaki Naruto, also of Konoha". Naruto send him a quick glare _'great, if Kabuto knows just a little of my skills, it's not going to stay a secret much longer. It doesn't seem like there isn't one team who's not listening in'._

"Oh, you know their names" Kabuto said, almost sounding disappointed "then this won't take much time". There was dead-silence in the room while he took the three cards, only the sound of Chouji munching his chips remained. "Here we go. First let's see Rock Lee: He's one year older than you guys. Mission experience; 30 D-rank and 19 C-rank ones. The squad leader is Maito Gai, the green beast of Konoha, his teammates are Higarashi Tenten, weapon-master, and Hyuuga Neji, prodigy of his clan". Hinata tensed up at the mention of her cousin, making Naruto frown. Was she afraid of going up against her own family? He brushed it off. Kabuto continued "his Taijutsu skills have increased dramatically this past year since he graduated, but his other skills are close to none existent. He got everyone's attention last year as a skilled rookie Genin, but he didn't take the Chunin exams. This is his first time taking it, like you."

"Next let's see Gaara of the Desert; he is the same age as you guys. Mission experience; eight C-rank ones and… This is amazing! He did a B-rank mission as a Genin. I don't know how many D-rank he did, as this is his first time taking the exams, and he isn't from Konoha. And the same reason is why I can't tell you his skills. I don't know his squad leaders name either, but his teammates are his siblings; Kankuro and Temari. They are all the children of the current Kazekage, Yondaime Kazekage-Sama. There is one more thing I should tell you, though it's just a rumor. It seems that he has returned from all of his missions unharmed."

The rookies were again stunned. "He did a B-rank mission as a Genin, and completed it unharmed?"

"And last, let's see Uzumaki Naruto; he is the same age as you, as you very well know. Mission experience; wow, 21 D-rank, 5 C-rank and… 2 A-rank ones, in only the few months since you graduated." For the third time in less than half an hour, Naruto received disbelieving looks from the other rookies. Kabuto continued "The squad leader is Hatake Kakashi, also known as Sharingan no Kakashi; his teammates are Uchiha Sasuke, the last loyal Uchiha, and Haruno Sakura, the top Kunoichi of her year. He himself graduated as the dead-last. His Genjutsu skills are below average, he is only able to dispel them, not cast them. This is because of his enormous Kage-level chakra reserves. His Taijutsu is above average, but nothing to take note off, and his Ninjutsu is well over average, using his Kekkai Genkai, Shoton." This time he got even more disbelieving looks, even from his own team. He paid no attention to it, only glaring at the person who had revealed close to all of his skills to the whole room.

"Why thank you Kabuto. Why don't you say it a little louder? I'm not sure the Kusa team in the other end of the room heard it!" the blond Genin said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"No, we heard it" it came from the other end of the room, making Naruto and the other rookies sweat drop.

But Kabuto wasn't done "It also seems like he has an incredible healing-rate. He heals from scratches within minutes, broken bones within a day, and he doesn't seem to get sick." Naruto looked at the older Genin in front of him with disbelief. How did this person, who he had never met, know all of his secrets? Well, all but one. Even if he did, he wouldn't be stupid enough to reveal it. That's what he thought, until Kabuto was about to make one of his worst fears come true "it is thought the reason for his healing-rate is because-"

Naruto's eyes shot open in fear, before he let instinct take over. He grabbed Kabuto before he could finish the sentence, and slammed him into the wall. Crystals quickly formed around his wrist and legs, sticking him to the wall, while two smaller crystal blades formed close to his throat, inches from killing him. Many from the room looked surprised and shocked at the development, none more than the rookies. Sakura was probably the one who were most surprised; she had trained and hung out, and actually liked it, with him for months, and never once had he pulled something like this off. Normally Ino would have scolded Naruto by now, but she was mesmerized by the crystals at Naruto's command, as many others in the room.

Naruto, with his hand still pressing Kabuto to the wall, took the card out of the silver-haired Genin's hand and read it. He knew about the Kyuubi. _'But how? He can't be more than seven-teen. He wasn't old enough to be there, or have been told, when it happened.'_ He leaned close into Kabuto to whisper in his ear "You might as well thank me, Kabuto-san. I have just saved you for a very uncomfortable death. What you were about to reveal is an S-rank secret. I don't know how you found out, but I'll make sure the Hokage himself knows of it."

The sand siblings were standing halfway through the room, but they had a clear view. Temari stared at the crystal, the clockwork in her head churning "I knew it"

Kabuto turned to his sister "You knew what?"

"You don't notice anything, do you?" she scolded lightly "That is the Genin we ran into a week ago"

Kabuto didn't like being scolded like that from his big-sister "Well, it is a little difficult to notice stuff when you have your head stuffed into the road!" he hissed back.

Temari sighed "When he handled you" she got a glare from Kankuro "he seemed to summon a kunai out of thin air. I have been trying to figure out how he did it. He must have used his Kekkai Genkai… We should watch out for him"

"We don't need to do such things. If he crossed my path, mother will be happy to swim in his blood" Gaara said while looking hungrily at the blond Genin from Konoha.

Team Gai were already sitting at a writing table. Neji looked interested for a second but dropped it "Tenten, isn't that your friend?"

Tenten tore her eyes away from the scene; she was just as surprised as Sakura, to look at her teammate "Yes, he is".

"Did you know about his Kekkai Genkai?" Neji asked in an emotionless voice

She hesitated "Yes, I did"

Neji shot her a glare "And why didn't you think it was necessary to tell us?"

"Because he is my friend, and I promised I wouldn't talk about it, until it was public knowledge… which I guess it is now" she responded, not wavering a second.

The Hyuuga prodigy was about to retort when Lee intervened "Neji, calm down. While she maybe should have told us, given the circumstances, she didn't because of a friend. That is the best excuse you could have". Neji scoffed, but let it slide, as he retracted into his emotionless shell again. Tenten mouthed a 'thank you' to Lee, who nodded at her.

In another place in the room the only Kumo team stood. "You think this is what Raikage-Sama was talking about? He said that while this is a diplomatic mission, we needed to look out, because there had been rumors about Konoha getting a new Kekkai Genkai?" Karui whispered to her two teammates.

Omoi, who was serious for once, responded "I think we can be pretty sure about that. And he looks like he has some degree of control over it. What do you think Yugito?"

The third member was still staring at the whiskered kid from Konoha _'What is it about him? There is something…'_

"Yugito-chan? Are you there?" Karui asked

Yugito blinked "Yeah, I think we can be sure it's him. We need to report it to Samui when we can".

Back with Naruto and Kabuto, the silver-haired Genin gulped "I guess I'll give you my thanks."

"I guess so" he responded with a glare. He stepped back, and with an unseen command, the crystal shattered. He then held the card up for Kabuto to see, then crystallized it and shattered it as well "you won't need this anymore."

A smoke-cloud expanded in the far end of the room "Quiet down you punks!" drawing the attention from the rookies. Little by little the cloud dispersed to reveal a bunch of Konoha shinobi. The front most seemed to be one who had spoken up "Sorry to keep you waiting. I am the examiner of the first test of the Chunin exams, Morino Ibiki." He pointed directly at Naruto "You from Konoha, don't think you can do anything you want before the exam. Do you want to be failed before it even starts?"

Naruto bowed "I'm sorry Morino-san, it won't happen again"

Ibiki didn't let show he heard it "this is a good chance to say this… You are not allowed to fight each other during the exam, unless given permission by the examiners. And if the permission is given, you can't kill each other, unless that has been expressed as well by the examiner. Anyone who doesn't follow the rules of the exams will fail immediately, understood?" No one contradicted him "The first part of the Chunin exams will began. Turn in your applications, and take one of these tags. Sit where the number tells you to. Then we will pass out the papers for the written exam."

Naruto got in line to turn in his application. He got number 53; he wasn't sitting anywhere near his teammates _'Well, I guess that's clear why. We can't sit next to the people we are in teams with.'_ He looked to his right side to find Hinata _'at least there is one person I know nearby.'_ He looked on his desk; there was his paper turned over, the backside facing up, a pencil, an eraser and a pencil-sharpener. He sighed; while he had gotten smarter, he still hated written exams.

He was brought out of his thoughts when Ibiki tapped a charcoal on the blackboard "This first exam has a few important rules. I will not accept any questions, so listen carefully…" he let it sink in as he started writing on the blackboard "First rule is you all are given 10 points at the start. The written exam consists of 10 questions, and each is worth one point; the test is a deduction based test. If you get one problem wrong, you will get one point deducted. So, if you get three problems wrong, your points will be reduced to seven…" He let the Genin in the room think about it for a few seconds "Second rule; the pass-fail decision will be determined by your team's total points." Just at that moment, Sakura was so relieved that she wasn't on the team with the old Naruto. Ibiki didn't stop "Third rule; if an examiner determines that you have cheated, or done something similar during the test, the action will cause you to lose two points… In other words, there will be people who will be forced to leave this place without their test being graded. Those who try to cheat without thinking carefully first, will only hurt themselves and their teams." He paused again "You are trying to become Chunin, so start acting like one… And last; if anyone in the team gets a zero, everyone on that team will fail." Yes, Sakura was really happy she wasn't on the team with the old Naruto. "The last problem will be given 45 minutes after the exam begins. You have one hour for the exam. Begin!"

The room was filled with the sound of papers turning, before falling dead silent. Naruto looked at the paper in front of him, and after he read the questions, got a little worried. Out of the nine questions, he thought that he maybe would be able to answer on three. He looked around him, to see horror filled faces. He turned his attention back to his paper _'Ok, question three: 'How far, and how fast, can you throw a standard kunai, not using any chakra of any kind, based on Kimrai's Law of air currents?' I know I have read this somewhere before…'_

Thirty-five minutes had passed. There had already been fourteen teams who had been caught cheating. Naruto had only two solved problems, with one of them being a guess at best _'How is anyone able to answer these questions!? These are not for Genin-level shinobi. Sakura or Shikamaru might be able to answer them all, but she is a freak of nature in that department and Shika's a damn lazy genius… You just can't answer these questions without cheating! Okay Naruto, calm down. What was it Ibiki said? 'Those who try to cheat without thinking first'…'_ he thought about it for a minute or _two 'that is it! He wants us to cheat! Of course, it all makes sense now; he must be testing out ability to gather information within limited time. The question now is how do I cheat without getting caught?'_ As Naruto had come to that conclusion, he looked around in the room. Just as he had thought, people were cheating; the Hyuuga had their Byakugan activated, Sasuke had his Sharingan activated, Tenten was using mirrors. _'Mirrors… Maybe, just maybe, will it work'._

He looked around to see if any of the examiners were looking his way; none was. Very subtle he made the ram seal under the table. He closed his eyes to concentrate. Very slowly little mirrors appeared around the room; one on his table, one on the ceiling above his table, and around the room. Now he wanted to see Sakura's test; she was the one he trusted the most to have the right answers. He was sure there were Chunin, or maybe even Jounin, in here, with the right answers, but he didn't know who they were. So he went with Sakura. Very carefully he turned the different mirrors, until he could see Sakura in the mirror on the table. He turned the last mirror a bit more, and there. He could now see her test, and as he thought, she was now finishing her solution on the last of her questions. He quickly wrote down the answers, and very carefully broke the crystal mirrors down, little by little, to avoid making noise. With that done, he waited the last minutes until the tenth question was revealed.

A few minutes later, Ibiki grinned. He was standing the exact same spot, as when he had told the rules of the exam. Naruto thought he was scary as hell, but he had some talent. Ibiki spoke up "looks like we've already dropped the incompetent ones. I will now give the problem, since 45 minutes have already have passed. So listen up! This is the tenth and final problem!" The room was dead-silent, all awaiting the last problem "But before I do, there's one thing I must say… There will be one special rule for this last question."

Just as he was about to tell the rule, the door opened, and in walked Kankuro and a guard. Ibiki smirked "you're lucky. Your puppet show didn't have to go to a waste." Shock was written all over his face; he hadn't expected anyone to know about his Karasu puppet. Ibiki closed his eyes "Oh well, sit down." Kankuro walked to his seat, discreetly dropping a piece of rolled up paper on his sisters table, and sat down.

"I will now explain" Ibiki continued. "This is a hopeless rule… First, you are all going to choose if you wish to take this tenth problem or not." That caught everyone's attentions.

It was Temari of Suna who spoke up "Choose? So what happens if we don't take the tenth problem?"

"If you choose not to take it" Ibiki replied "your points will be reduced to zero. In other words; you and your team will fail." A lot of murmur caused through the room "And here is the other rule". The room fell silent again "If you choose to take it, and you get it wrong, you will lose the privilege to take the Chunin exams forever!"

Kiba couldn't take it anymore. He had held in an outburst for way to long "What the hell!? There should be those here who have taken the exams in the past!"

Naruto started to get really scared, when Ibiki started laughing lightly. Chills ran down his back, and he swore he saw the Shinigami behind Ibiki. "You were unlucky" he finally said "This year I am the one making the rules. That is why I gave you the option of quitting. Those who are not confident, can choose not to take it, and just take the exam later this year, or the exam after that…" Naruto looked around finding worried faces everywhere. He looked at Sasuke and Sakura; he was relieved that they didn't seem to want to quit. But he caught sight of Hinata, doing something with her fingers, and the terrified look in her eyes. He looked back at Ibiki "Let us begin. Those who do not want to receive the tenth problem, raise your hands. After we confirm your numbers, we will have you leave."

First no one raised their hands. Just as Naruto was beginning to think no one would, the person on his left rose from his seat "I… I… I won't take the question!"

"Number 50, fail" it sounded from one of the examiners. "Number 130 and 111, fail along with him". And with that, the dam was open. More and more raised their hands, quitting. Slowly, one by one, the room thinned out. Naruto didn't have a problem with it, that is, until Hinata started to raise her hand. What could he do?

He quickly formulated a plan, and started to raise his hand, surprising both his teammates. He then slammed it into the table "You know what? Fuck you baldy! I'm not going to run away! I'll take the problem! Even if I become a Genin forever, I'm going to become the Hokage, no matter what! I'm not scared!" he sat down again. He winched mentally; he knew this was how he used to talk all the time. He really had to go and apologize to Iruka when he could; even he couldn't be around a person yelling all the time. But his plan had worked: Hinata, and everyone else thinking about quitting, now only had confidence left.

"I will ask one more time" Ibiki said "this is the choice that will impact your life. If you want to quit, now is the chance."

Naruto leaned back in his chair, looking straight into Ibiki's eyes "I am not going back on my word. That's my way of the ninja."

Ibiki smiled _'What a kid. He wiped out everyone's uncertainty. 84 students, eh? There's more left than I expected… Looks like there's no point in waiting any longer'_. He glanced over at the other examiners; they all nodded to him. He took a deep breath "Nice determination. Then… For the first exam, everyone here… Passes!"

Everyone was stunned. Sakura couldn't stop herself anymore "wait, what's the meaning of that? We pass already? What about the tenth problem?"

Ibiki showed a big smile, making everyone get goose bumps "there was no such thing to begin with. Or you can call the two-choice question the tenth problem."

"Hey!" everyone turned their attention to Temari "So what were those previous nine problems?! It was all a waste!"

"No it was not" the scarred examiner replied "The nine problems accomplished their purpose: to test each individual's information gathering skills. First, this test's purpose lies in the first rule… Your pass-fail decision is based on your three person teams. By giving the idea, we have given you an unprecedented amount of pressure, to try and not be a nuisance to your team… But these test problems cannot be solved by your average Genin. So, most of the people here must have come to the conclusion 'I have to cheat to get points'. In other words, this exam assumed that everyone was going to cheat. So, we snuck two Chunin in, who knew the answers, to be targets of cheating."

Two people raised their hands "But those who cheated like a fool failed, of course. Why?" Ibiki untied his bandana, to show his scalp full of scars. "Information can have greater value than life at times and in missions and battlefields… Information is contested with the lives of people." People took a good look, before he tied his bandana on again "The information that an enemy gets after being noticed by a third person, will not necessarily be accurate. Remember this: getting incorrect information can cause great damage to your teammates, and village. So, we made you all gather information in the form of cheating. We kicked out those who were lacking in that field. That's what went on."

Temari had followed this far, but she still had one problem "But I still can't agree to that on the last problem…"

"But this tenth problem was the main problem of the first exam." Ibiki saw the confused looks on many, but a knowing look at Naruto "let me explain. The tenth question was a 'take or not take' choice. Needless to say, it was a painful two-choice problem. Those who did not take it, failed with their teams. If you chose to take it, and could not answer it, your right to ever taking the exam would be taken away… It was a very insincere problem."

"I still don't get it" it came from Temari.

This time Naruto spoke up "it's rather simple, really. When you become Chunin, you will get missions with you as captain. Thus it will be you who are responsible, and you are the one to make the decision. Let's say you get a mission, where you are against innumerable odds; you can choose to go, even when the odds are against you, and save your village, but risking you and your team's life. Or, you can choose not to go, but risk your whole village"

Realization struck everyone in the room. Ibiki nodded "You are correct. Just because your life and the lives of your teammates may be in danger, are you able to avoid dangerous missions? The answer is no! There are missions that carry heavy risks, but cannot be avoided. The ability to show your courage to your teammates when needed and the ability to get through a bad situation… That is what we look for in a Chunin, a squad leader. Those who cannot bet their fate in a critical situation, those who give up when given the chance, because there is a tomorrow, a next week, a next year, and let their minds sway over an uncertain future… Fools who only carry a light determination like that have no right to become a Chunin. That is what I believe." He looked over the crowd, who were sucking up every word, "I am saying that you here who have chosen to take the tenth problem, gave the right answer for a difficult question. You can deal with the difficulties you will face; you have broken through the entrance. The first exam of the Chunin selection ends now! I wish you luck."

No longer than three seconds later did a ball of cloth crash through the window. A hand threw two kunai to the ceiling, revealing a banner that said 'Second examiner, sexy and dangerous Mitarashi Anko, is here!' In front of it stood a very provoking-clothed woman with purple hair "Everyone, there's no time to be happy. I am the second examiner, Mitarashi Anko! Let's go to the next exam!"


	10. Second exam starts! Enemies all around!

**Chapter 10: Second Exam Starts! Enemies all around!**

Anko was standing with pumped fist up in the air, starring out on the stunned crowd. Ibiki came out from behind the banner and said deadpanned "grasp the atmosphere. You're early…" The scantily dressed kunoichi had the decency to blush.

Naruto was staring at the lady Jounin with wide eyes. He glanced over at Sakura, an unspoken question going between them, as she nodded. Naruto sighed. ' _Always get the weirdoes'_

Anko looked over the crowd "84? Ibiki, did you let 28 teams pass? The first exam must've been too soft"

Ibiki didn't let it faze him "Or, it could be that there are a lot of excellent students this time"

Anko didn't really look like she believed him "Oh well… Not to worry; I'm going to make more than half the teams fail in the next exam." Shocked looks were to be seen through the Genin's, making Anko smirk hungrily "I'm getting excited. I will explain the details tomorrow. We will go somewhere else, so ask your Jounin-sensei about the rally point and time. That is all, dismissed!"

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Kabuto was walking down a dark alleyway, glancing over his shoulder from time to time. It was clear that whatever he was doing, it wasn't something anyone could find out about. He picked up his pace, and entered one of the warehouses in the area. It was dark and damp, hardly any light entered through the crackled windows

"Were you followed?" a malicious voice spoke in the shadows. Kabuto couldn't locate it at first, but then saw two yellow slit eyes light up in the dark "Well?"

Kabuto kneeled down on one knee "No, Orochimaru-Sama, I don't believe I was"

Silence was between them, as Orochimaru watched one of Sasori's former spies. Kabuto kept kneeling until he was told otherwise. Finally Orochimaru spoke "How did it go?"

Kabuto didn't look up as he spoke "He reacted just as you planned for him to do – more so than I would have expect. But I was about to reveal one of his and Konoha's closest guarded secrets… He really is something, the Kyuubi Jinchurriki"

"That he is the Kyuubi Jinchurriki, though interesting, isn't what I'm most interested in. You know as well as I that the Bijuu are hard to control and that the Jinchurriki need years of training to even begin and control their tenant. No, what's truly interesting me is his ability… I have only seen it in one person before… In her." Kabuto's mask of indifference cracked as his eyebrow twitched. It was clear he didn't think well of the person his master was speaking of. It didn't go unnoticed, but the snake Sannin didn't delve into it.

The snake summoner seemed to be considering something, finally speaking "I think I will see for myself how much this Uzumaki Naruto is worth, after I have checked up on my dear Sharingan bearer… Kabuto, continue to keep a low cover. We won't be in Konoha for much longer, and it wouldn't do good to be exposed this late into the operation"

Kabuto nodded "Hai"

\- The next day -

The Genin that had passed yesterday's test were now standing in front of a big fenced forest. If you looked in though the fence, you could see what looked like half-rotten tree's housing big animals, which slithered in and out of the shadows. Naruto knew this place all too well; he had used a training ground close by, and after one look through the fence, and the signs with 'forbidden area' and 'Warning – you may die', he had decided never to walk through one of the gates… until now that is

"This sure is a creepy place" Sakura said. But whereas a few months ago she would have looked freaked out, now she just looked disgusted. Naruto nodded in agreement

Anko was standing between the crowd and the fence. She smirked; she loved how scared all the bra- all the Genin looked "You will be able to experience all first hand, why this place is called 'the Forest of Death'." Naruto tried not to, but couldn't help it; he let out a scoff. Even if this place was creepy as hell, he had seen way worse. Anko didn't care for that, and faster than any of most of the Genin could see, threw a kunai towards Naruto. But Naruto wasn't the same person he was in the academy, as his reflexes were in top condition; he grabbed the airborne kunai, spun around, and parried the one held by Anko, now standing in the middle of the Genin group.

She was impressed by the boy's actions, but didn't let it show as she leaned her face close to Naruto's. "You know, boys like you are always the first to die in there. Lots and lots of beasts just waiting to eat you for breakfast"

Naruto just smirked back, and leaned in closer whispering "I'm sure they are, but they will have to wait a little longer. Beast such as those in there doesn't scare me. After all, I have the worst of them is sealed in my stomach". She nodded at him, and they stopped their little contest. They both knew she would win if they kept at it. Even if Naruto was a very skilled Genin, he still was a Genin, and didn't stand a chance against a well-trained tokubetsu jounin as Anko. Whispers went through the crowd

"I can't believe he actually caught it!"

"Yeah, did you see how fast that thing was flying?"

"I don't think I want to go up against him"

Naruto smiled to himself. He didn't think he would get the chance so soon. Since Kabuto had exposed many of his talents, though not the specific jutsu, he had changed tactics. Since he couldn't hide his talent, he had to make sure everyone knew how strong he was, and hopefully scare them off. Sakura nodded at him; he had already told his team what he was planning, the evening before. She looked back at Anko, who was walking up in front of the crowd again _'Even if that helped Naruto, what is with that examiner? She is totally whacked, to not say dangerous'._

The tokubetsu jounin looked over the exam-takers "Before we begin the second exam, I'm going to pass out these to everyone." She took out a stack of papers "These are consent forms, and those planning on taking this exam must sign one."

"And why is that?" a Genin from Ame asked

Anko looked happy that someone asked, a little too happy for Naruto's taste, as she said "From here on, people will die. Therefore, we need people's consent before we continue, so I, and thus Konoha, will be held responsible for the deaths." She laughed as if she just told a little joke. She waved dismissingly "Now enough of that. I will begin the explanation of the second exam. To be concise, you will all go through an extremely intense survival match" she said, as she handed the papers to Naruto, who took one and send it to the next Genin.

Shikamaru took a look on the paper he had gotten _'Survival match? What a troublesome exam…'_

Anko rolled out a little map showing the Genin "I'll explain the training area's geographical features. The 44th training area is a circular region, surrounded by 44 locked gate entrances. There is a river, a forest, and a tower in the middle. The tower is approximately 10 kilometers away from all the gates. Inside the limited space, you will have to go through a certain survival program. The program consists of… A competition where anything goes… Over these scrolls" she held up another two scrolls for all to see.

"Scrolls?" a Konoha Genin asked

Anko nodded "Yeah scrolls. There are two kinds; the Scroll of Heaven, and the Scroll of the Earth. You will fight over these scrolls." She paused as she put the scrolls away again "28 teams in total passed the first exam. Half of those teams will the scroll of Heaven, and the other half will get the Scroll of the Earth. Each team will get one of these scrolls. And you simply have to fight over these."

"And?" Sasuke asked "What's needed to pass?"

"Bring the Scrolls of Heaven and Earth to the tower with your teammates" she answered

"In other words" Sakura thought out loud for all to hear "the 14 teams or half the people here, that get their scroll stolen will fail."

Anko nodded "Bingo pinkie. But it needs to be done within the time limit. This second exam has a limit of 120 hours, or exactly five days."

"Five days," Ino yelled in a high pitching squeak.

"What about food!?" Chouji asked as if the sky was falling.

Anko shrugged "Not my problem. You could find it in the forest- it's a treasure box of nature. There should be plenty of food."

"However" Kabuto said "there are also a lot of man-eating beasts, poison bugs, and poisonous, man-eating plants."

"No…" Chouji said disheartened

"Idiot! That's why it's called a survival match" Ino scolded

"Also" it came from Neji "it is possible that it's less than the 13 teams that pass"

Lee looked excited to try it out "And as time passes, you will be required to move more. So, the time to rest your body will become shorter. This seems quite rough."

"And we're surrounded by enemies. So when we finally do sleep, we won't be able to do so in peace" Naruto finished. A silence overcame the Genin, as they all thought about the possibilities.

"People will get hurt in the process of fighting over a scroll" Anko continued "and those who cannot bear the shinobi program's strictness will also emerge."

Shikamaru raised his hand "Excuse me, can we quit in between?"

Anko frowned "as a rule, you are not allowed to give up during the exam. You will spend the five days in the forest."

"Just as I thought…" Shikamaru sighed "How troublesome…"

"While we're on this topic, here are the conditions that will fail you." Silence fell over the crowd again "First, a team that cannot bring both scrolls to the tower, with the whole team alive, will fail. Second, the team that loses a teammate or produces an unrecoverable teammate will fail. Also, just as a note; you are not allowed to look inside the scrolls until you reach the tower. If you do? Well, that's a surprise you'll see when you look at it… If you become a Chunin, you will be handling top secret documents. So this test is also to determine your reliability."

"That is it for the explanation. We will exchange three consent forms for one scroll at that hut" she pointed at said hut "And after have gotten to your assigned gate entrance; everyone will start at the same time." Anko looked like she wasn't sure she should tell more, but finally let in with a sigh "I guess I should give you one last piece of advice… Don't die!"

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

The members of Team 7 were standing in front of Gate 12. They had been some of the first to turn in their consent forms, not wanting to linger around the larger group. They were now waiting for the Chunin in front of them to open to gate; it was to be opened at 12:30 exactly, down to the second. They were all tense.

"Naruto, Sasuke-kun, wha-" was all Sakura could say before Naruto cut her off

"Not now Sakura-chan, wait till we're inside. We will find a place to get things sorted out." It took her a few seconds to figure out that Naruto wanted to wait with this talk till they were inside – they couldn't take any chances. For once Sasuke agreed with Naruto, so Sakura nodded at them. They went back to being silent and tense.

The Chunin in front of looked at his clock and unlocked the gate. Team 7 was getting ready to sprint off at full speed. It wasn't long after that, that they heard the crazy snake lady's voice resonating through the air

"We will now begin the Chunin Selection's Second Exam! TRY NOT TO DIE MAGGOTS!"

And the gates shot open, and the three Konoha Genin took off at full speed, leaping to the trees, the element they were most used to. They didn't stop for about fifteen minutes, only caring about getting into the forest, and away from everyone and anyone. They came to a small clearing when they finally came to a hold. Naruto quickly created about a dozen of his Kage Bunshin, and send them to be lookouts throughout the area.

"Good, now we can talk" Naruto said. He looked at Sasuke "Which scroll was it we got again?"

"The Scroll of Heaven" Sasuke replied, taking out the said object.

Naruto nodded "ok then. We need to settle a few things; what do we do from here, how do we recognize each other, and where do we hide the scroll"

Sasuke shot him a glare "Who put you in charge, dobe?"

Naruto shrugged "No one did teme. If you want to take charge, then fine. We just need to be fast. We can't stay in one place for too long." Sasuke still glared at him, but didn't object, so Naruto continued "I already have an idea of how we can recognize each other." Naruto went took out a scroll, where the center was a pen-case and pen. He put his hand out for Sakura to take "I'm going to put a seal on all of us"

Sakura carefully laid her arm in Naruto's hand, and he began drawing on the top of her arm, she bit her lip not to giggle from the touch of the soft brush. She was impressed by the seal "So, what does it do?"

"Well, I can't really explain it in detail, you wouldn't understand it to be frankly, but what it does is make a 'pull' in the mind, so you will know where the sibling seals are" Naruto explained. He saw the worry in her face, and smiled amused "No, it won't last forever. It can't be washed off easily, but this ink will slowly decay. Give it a week and a half, two at most. And they only work in close proximity, but they will work" he said as finished Sakura's seal. She took a look at it; she didn't recognize most of the work, but did see something that looked like the sign for 'mind'.

' _He's really gotten impressive with working of Fūinjutsu. I still can't believe this is the same knuckle-head from the academy_.' Sakura casted her eyes down; ' _When we have some time I'll talk to Naruto later…'_

Naruto reached for Sasuke's arm, who gave it reluctantly. Even he could see the use in what Naruto could do… Maybe he should give him a chance? Just…. Naruto continued "And then there's the scroll… I have two scrolls that look similar, so we can make fakes, and for the real one, we can seal it in a seal on one of our bodies. I will modify it, so we all can open it if the need should arise; wouldn't be good if one of us gets knocked out, and we can't open it because of that."

Sakura thought what Naruto had proposed, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't find any flaws; Naruto had really thought this through. The blond member of team had finished Sasuke's seal in the meanwhile. He made two more Kage Bunshin right after; one to make his own seals, and one to make the fake scrolls. Before the Bunshin started on the seal he moved a hand glowing with chakra over Naruto's biceps; something Sakura had never seen or heard of before. Slowly another seal faded into appearance. To no big surprise, Sakura couldn't really make anything out of it, but the number '12' close to the edge. As the clone began to make the 'pull seal' Sakura let her curiosity gets the best of her "Naruto, what is that other seal you got? And why wasn't it visible before?"

Naruto looked at the seal she was referring to "Ah that, it's a restriction seals. Makes it harder to move around; level 1 it's like to move through water, level 2 it's like walking through mud, and so on… So, if you're ever in a pinch, you can remove the effects, and what before seemed like just jumping a meter, will suddenly be twelve meters"

Even Sasuke thought that it was impressive. The same thought ran through Naruto's' teammates' heads. Sakura brushed away a strand of hair that had wiggled itself out of her bow/hitai-ate "Erm, Naruto, do you think maybe I and Sasuke-kun could get one? I mean, it would be pretty good to have a hidden burst of speed in a pinch"

Naruto frowned "I don't think you can. Ero-sennin was rather adamant about me not giving it to anyone. First I didn't understand why, but after having studied some more Fūinjutsu… Though it is one of the first seals you learn about, it's advised that you don't try it out before you have at least a year's worth of training. It's in a category of seals, that not only require the seal itself, but the knowledge of the seal. I guess it's kind of like a sealing scroll; even if you have the seal, if you don't know how to access the items inside it, you can't use it. There are some major differences between the two… The most important and obvious is again about the knowledge. If you don't know how to work a sealing seal, you simply won't be able to get the item out or into the seal, but if you don't know how to work a restriction seal, it can really hurt you. So, no… sorry."

Sakura sighed disappointed "oh well…"

'Hn' it came from Sasuke. He looked thoughtful while looking at Naruto, as if he was deciding what he was going to do with him. He took a look at the clone making the fake scrolls "dobe, you said you also had some idea how we could best utilize the time in here… Let us hear them"

Naruto stared at Sasuke in disbelief; this was one of the first times Sasuke had actually acknowledged that he was worth something. He smiled "Yeah, well… What I'm thinking is that we have three options. One; we simply track and hunt the other teams down. The upside is that we're not really reliant on their movement; as we will be do the moving. But on the downside, we will use a lot of energy hunting them… Also, none of us really has any tracking skills. Sure, I could make a few hundred Bunshin, but that would alarm the other teams further, and they will be specifically being looking for us."

"Then there is option 2; we wait for the other teams by the river; it's the only pure water-source in this gods forsaken place. It is true that it's too big for us to cover the whole of it, but we could probably cover about a fourth or a third with the use of my Bunshin. The upside; we could mostly preserve our energy for fighting; they will be do the moving. We will also be the ones to set the circumstances for the fight. The downside; we will be reliant on their movement, and as such would be required to stay up for a long period of time, so they don't slip by while we're taking a rest. Also, we are for sure not the only one to be thinking like that…"

"And finally option 3. It's the same idea as option 2; set up and wait for another team, where they are sure to come. But instead of the river, we will do it at the tower in the middle. Same up- and downsides"

Naruto waited for their response. Both of them seemed to be waging the options they had been presented with. Sakura was about to speak up, when Sasuke cut her off "I would say we should go with the river. We will have access to clean water, and open areas; perfect for setting up a trap. The tower is of course also an option, but there isn't as much space, and we're sure to bump into a lot of other teams, that shouldn't happen at the river"

'… _He really is not the same person from the academy,'_ Sasuke mentally mused.

Sakura and Naruto nodded in agreement. Naruto looked over at his clone to see how far he had gotten with the fake scrolls "Ok, if we're going with the river, I say… that we…"

Naruto trailed off as memories from one of the Bunshin he had posted as a lookout returned to him. Sasuke and Sakura were taken by surprise by it, but quickly understood that he must had gotten memories from one of his clones. He frowned.

"Naruto," Sakura whispers.

"We have to hurry up. A team from Ame is coming this way" he said and dispelled the two Bunshin that were with them. He had gotten both the 'pull seal' and a sealing seal on his arm. He grabbed the real Heavens Scroll and sealed it, and took the two fake scrolls. His other Bunshin had finished one of them, an Earth Scroll, and almost finished the other, another Heavens Scroll. He gave the fake Earth Scroll to Sasuke, who quickly put it in his pouch, and stuffed the unfinished one in his own.

They all three stood up. Naruto looked into the air, going over his and his teammates' skills, and formulating a plan to beat this team. It would be hard, since he had no idea what kind of skills the Ame team had, but they would have to do. If they ran, the Ame Genin were sure to follow them, and it could evolve into a competition about who gave up first, which he really didn't feel like. He looked up to Sakura, and even Sasuke, looking anticipating at him. He nodded

"So what I think we should do is…"

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Three Ame Genin were jumping through the woods. They were all wearing what looked like full-body yellow wet-suits, their eyes covered by cloth, with holes to see through, and a mask over their mouth, probably to be able to breathe under water. Their tracker had just picked up on some other Genin, but they weren't sure who they were yet. The largest of the three tilted his head to get the tracker into view "Are you sure they are this way? I can't see any sign of them"

The tracker kept his hand in the ram sign "and that is why I'm the tracker, and you're the leader. I'm positive they're this way"

The third spoke up "They must be pretty fast. To be able to make it this far inside the forest, in the little time we have had since the test started, isn't an easy task"

"Doesn't matter" the leader of the three said "as long as we take them by surprise, it won't matter"

That closed the matter as they continued onwards. Not long after they arrived at the edge of a clearing, a clearing that Team 7 had been in not long before. The tracker motioned them to a stop. They continued long the forest-line, and soon came upon a small camping area.

They smirked as they only saw a pink-haired Kunoichi sitting in the area – the tracker couldn't sense any of the others, and so they figured that her teammate was out to gather food or wood, or something of the like. The leader nodded to the third member of the team, who quickly disappeared into the shadows. He smirked as he closed in on the apparent unknowing target. He sneaked closer and closer. He raised his dagger, almost having the Kunoichi. Sakura quickly spun around and delivered an earth-shattering punch to the Ame-nin abdomen. He coughed out a large amount of blood on her hand.

The leader and trackers eyes shot open as they realized they had walked straight into a trap. They were about to retreat when they heard two voice from behind them

" _Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu_!"

" _Fūton: Daitoppa_!"

The first thing that hit them was the searing wind; it burned what little skin they had exposed. Then they saw an eerie glow between the trees, where after a fireball bigger than they had even seen came soaring towards them, setting anything it passed on fire. They quickly jumped down into the clearing; the only place they were sure it wouldn't hit, only to hear the same voice that had casted the futon

" _Shoton: Baningu Kosoku_!"

Several chains made of crystal broke through the earth underneath them and wrapped themselves around the two. They saw over at their humped-over teammate, and could see the same happening to him. Almost immediately after they felt their chakra being harder to access.

Naruto came out, with Sasuke close behind him, dusting his hands off in his pants "that went better than expected". Needless to say, the two conscious Ame-nin was glaring holes through him.

Sasuke 'hmph'ed "I still say we should've killed them right away"

"And risk not getting their scroll?" Naruto asked him, not really expecting an answer. He walked over to the two chained shinobi "So, spit it out. Where is your scroll?"

"Like we would give it that easily" the leader said laughing "you got some nerve kid"

Naruto sighed deeply and let his breath drop "Going to be that way then…?" he took up a stick from the ground. He turned his look back at the Ame-nin's "Let's play a little game. This is you" he motioned to the stick "and this is what I'll do to you and your team, one limp at the time, if you don't tell me where your scroll is".

The trapped shinobi watched intensely as the stick first was spiked with multiple blue crystals; they glanced nervously at each other. After it had been impaled with tens of crystal blades, it began crystallizing over; cold-sweat broke out. Thereafter, very slowly, the crystal shattered from one end to the other, sending the miniature crystal pieces out in the air. The tracker broke down

"I'll tell you, I'll tell you! Just don't kill me! I don't want to die yet!" he begged

"D-don't tell t-them!" the leader stammered

Naruto kept his cool, and raised an eyebrow at the tracker, completely ignoring the leader now "Alright then. Where is it?"

"It's over on him" he nodded towards the member of the team who had gotten pummeled by Sakura "he has it in his pouch". Naruto looked back at Sakura and Sasuke, who went over to the location right away. To Team 7 delight, they pulled out an Earth Scroll. Naruto rose and took a pose, ready to strike the shinobi in front of him

"You said you wouldn't kill us!" the leader half-screamed.

"I won't. But I can't have you guys following us, so you're going to take a little nap" the Shoton user responded, hitting them in the neck. They both slumped over, hitting the ground with a 'thud'. Naruto dispelled the chains and walked over to his teammates. Sakura looked worriedly at the three

"We can't just leave them like this. They will get eaten or something. You saw that snake out front!"

Sasuke didn't seem to agree, but didn't voice his opinion. Naruto looked at the Ame-nin and sighed in resignation "I guess you do have a point…" He made three clones and sent them with their beaten opponents on their backs, to find a hiding spot. He looked back at them "We better get out of here. We have stayed here for too long, and the other teams are bound to have heard that Katon/Fūton combination Sasuke and I fired off."

Both his teammates nodded in agreement, as they took off again.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Orochimaru in the disguise of a young Kusa Genin sneered; he still hadn't found Team 7. It had been almost three hours now, and if he they had been lucky, they could be on their way towards the tower now. He couldn't let that happen. In his search of the Shoton and Sharingan users, he and his followers had already come across two other teams. They had been stupid enough to try their luck against him, and failed miserably. They, of course, died a slow and agonizing death, but none of that mattered now. His thoughts were interrupted by the tracker he had taken with him

"Orochimaru-Sama" he called. Said Sannin glanced back at him, seeing a grinning Oto Genin "I've found them. They're about two kilometers south, south-west of here. They are moving rather fast"

Orochimaru, now also wearing a grin boarding to smirk, nodded at him "good work. I'll take it from here… You guys can go have some fun"

His two followers grinned to each other, before taking off into the forest. Orochimaru's creepy smirk stayed on his lips as he thought about the Sharingan user and the Shoton user; he couldn't wait to see what they were capable off. He shot off with speeds only jounin-level shinobi would be able to keep up with; in the direction he had been told.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Team 7 was jumping through the canopies of the forest, Naruto leading them, Sakura on his left, and Sasuke on his right. They were heading straight for the center; they had gotten their scroll, and the longer they stayed out in the open, the longer they risked of losing them. No matter how happy Naruto was about his team already having the Earth Scroll, he couldn't help but also feel a tiny tad disappointed _'and here I was ready to spent multiple nights out in the open, fighting strong teams… Oh well, I guess you shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth'_

In his mindscape the Kyuubi smirked darkly behind his prison; **'** _ **you'll get your wish brat. Let's see if you can live through it.'**_

It hadn't been ten seconds since Naruto had thought those thoughts did a very powerful gust knock them off course, forcing them to land on the ground. They quickly jumped into a formation, covering each other's backs, while being able to attack any angle. They stayed silence for about a minute, none of them daring to speak. But finally Sakura broke the silence

"That wasn't natural, was it?" she asked, still standing ready, trying to see if anything were coming for them from her view

Naruto shook his head "No, I'm pretty sure it was a Fūton: Daitoppa"

"But it looked nothing like yours did" Sasuke stated "This has to had been at least three times at powerful, probably more"

"Well, the thing about Daitoppa is that it varies in strength from user to user. Many factors matter, as- that doesn't matter now" the blond Genin answered. He narrowed his eyes as he saw something through the undergrowth "Sasuke, use your Sharingan here. I think they're coming." The Uchiha heir didn't get to do anything before they heard a laugh sending chills up their spines

"Ku, ku, ku" it came from the direction Naruto had pointed out. From the shade of the trees a person seemed to slither towards them "you really don't let your guard down." Said person came out into the light, giving Team 7 a clear view of a woman; she was one of the Genin from Kusa. "Looks like I can have more fun than I expected" she continued and licked her lips, giving the Genin from Konoha a sight of her abnormally long and odd-shaped tongue.

She laughed again while taking out his scroll; Scroll of Earth. "You want our Scroll of the Earth, right?" she asked, not really expecting an answer "since you three have the Scroll of Heaven." All three of Kakashi's students narrowed their eyes, the same thought going through their heads; she had been watching them, meaning that she had planned on taking them on. They didn't need an extra scroll, but none of them dared to speak or move against this enemy.

The next thing the foreigner did mental shiver; she brought the scroll to his mouth, her long tongue wrapping around the scroll, before forcing it down her throat. She continued talking to them, her hitai-ate covering her eyes in shadow "Now, let us begin… The fight over out scrolls… By putting our lives on the line!" She looked directly up at the three, pulling slightly down on her lower right eyelid.

A monstrous amount of killer intent hit them; something none of them had expected. They saw over, and over again, how the Kusa-nin were going to kill them; slice them open, kunai to the forehead, their throats slit. All of their eyes widened in shock and fear. Naruto half buckled down to one knee, but managed to remain partially standing, though still visibly shaking. He glared at the enemy in front of him, ' _she can't be a Genin. Just who is she? No Genin can manage to release such killer intent, no matter how strong they are. This killer intent… It has been through wars, it has been surrounded by death… If it wasn't because I have been exposed to the Kyuubi's…'_ He shifted his eyes to his teammates

Sakura and Sasuke had fallen down on their knees. Sasuke was currently bent over, emptying his stomachs contents, _'A Genjutsu…? No. It was just intent to kill! I can't believe it… After just seeing into her eyes, I was imprinted with an image of my own death. Just who is she?!_ ' Sakura was doing far worse; she was shaking like a leaf, crying her tears out. No matter how hard she had trained, nothing could have prepared her for this. How could she? This was a Chunin exam; no one like this should be in here.

Naruto was still shaking; but now in anger. He looked back at the imposing Kusa Genin, remembering his training, and shot his deadliest glare, with some of the Kyuubi's own killer intent. Naruto could feel traces of the Kyuubi's chakra running through his system, and knew that if he looked himself in the eyes, he would see red slit eyes, instead of the usual ocean blue. Sasuke stared up at Naruto, not knowing where he could've learned it. Sakura, though still in tears felt relief hit her system.

"Who are you?" Naruto growled

The hidden Orochimaru took a step back at the unexpected killer intent that rivaled, if not beat, his own, then smirked _'ku, ku, ku, seems little Naruto-kun has more control over the Kyuubi than I thought._ ' He smiled in his own creepy way "Very impressive Naruto-kun. I didn't expect you to be so in control"

"Tell me who you are!" Naruto repeated more harshly.

Orochimaru in the Kusa-Genin's body smirked. "Make me"

That was it for Naruto; he charges as fast as he could, conjured a crystal tanto in the process, and slashed through the foreign Genin. His eyes widened as the person his tanto was half buried in disappeared into smoke. She reappeared right in front of him, going through hand seals faster than Naruto had ever seen

" _Fūton: Renkudan_!"

Before Naruto could do anything, he felt like he was hit by the Hokage monument. Everything hurt as he was shot like a cannonball deep into the forest... She did not realize her voice echoed so loud as Sakura watched in horror.

"NARUTO!"

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Yugito, Omoi and Karui were sitting up in a tree while having something to eat. They had been running around the forest, trying to find another Genin team, but no such luck yet. Omoi swallowed his mouthful of rice-ball "You know; we could try the river. Some teams are bound to go there to get fresh water. If you don't, then you will just get dehydrated, then you will-"

"Gosh, we get it already, Omoi!" Karui yelled in a whisper and took another bite of her food. She sighed in defeat "but you do have a point… We're not getting anywhere at this rate. I really wish one of us was a sensory type that is good right now. Right, Yugito-chan? Yugito-chan?" Said girl was currently lost in thought, thinking about a certain blond Genin from Konoha.

"Yugito-chan!?" Karui yelled into her ear.

She pushed her away right away, rubbing her ear "That's mean Karui! You know how much more sensitive my hearing are because of Nibi!"

Karui shrugged "I had to do something. You were kind of in a dazed"

Yugito blushed "I was?"

Omoi nodded "Yeah, what was that about anyway? It's like the fifth time it has happened since yesterday. It could be really bad. Just think; we're in the middle of a fight with another Genin team, and they are charging at us. You're just about to cast a jutsu to counter theirs, but you faze out, and then – OUCH"

Karui rubbed her fist, but then looked at Yugito "again, he has a point. We need you to keep your head in the game. We are in here with a lot of other people, and some of us will die."

Yugito sighed "I know, it's just-" she stopped when she felt faint Killer intent. She looked at her two teammates, who were looking in the direction it was coming from. Not long after they felt a much more potent one. Yugito's eyes widened as she felt demonic chakra being used.

"Let's go" she said and jumped towards the killer intent

"What are you doing!? We should run away from that!" Karui screamed, but Yugito didn't listen. Karui quickly picked up Omoi "come on. We can't let her go alone."

They quickly jumped from branch to branch, trying to locate the exact area the killer intent and demonic chakra was coming from. Their eyes widened as they realized that one of the sources were moving fast towards them. That's when they started to hear to crashes. They stopped, getting ready to jump any way to avoid anything.

Through a tree crashed what Yugito concluded was the source of the demonic chakra, and it didn't stop. From where they were standing, they could see him crash through three more trees, before continuing out of sight. Yugito looked at her two teammates, before dashing off after the living projectile.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Naruto tried to channel more of the fox chakra into his system, as he kept crashing through trees. He finally stopped by making a big dent into what seemed like a several hundred year old oak. He fell down from his crater, falling headfirst into the earth. He groaned as he tried to get up, but found out he couldn't get more up than on four limbs. He coughed hard and spat out a fair amount of blood. He closed his eyes trying to focus his thoughts, which was hard because of all the pain. He had never felt so much pain before. The Fūton jutsu wasn't enough; he had to go through multiple kilometers of forest. And through who knows how many unforgiven giant oak.

He could feel at least five rips broken, his right leg didn't feel too good either, and he was almost positive he was bleeding internally, since he was coughing blood up. He groaned again as he sat up by the oak and closed his eyes. Even with the fox's chakra, this was going to take a while to heal, and he had to get back to Sakura and Sasuke fast. He didn't want to think what that maniac would do to them. But he couldn't do anything right now… He had to rest.

His ears twitched as he heard something moving, and his eyes went wide open when he heard a hiss. In front of him was a snake big enough to fill up his whole apartment, and still have a good portion of its tail outside. It looked hungrily at him and began to slither towards him. Naruto used all his power to stand up, still leaning onto the oak, and made a crystal tanto. But the crystal shattered as soon as it had been made. He closed his eyes _'No, it can't end like this… Anything but this… Kyuubi, just a little more. Leant me your chakra'._

He opened his eyes screaming, and brought his free hand slamming into the ground " _Shoton: Suishō no shi!"_

The snake stopped as the whole clearing shook, seemingly concentrating under the snake. Right as Naruto thought the jutsu had failed, giant crimson spikes grew out of the earth, impaling the giant snake everything he could. From where the spikes had hit, the flesh started to crystallize, making the snake hiss in agony. In thirty seconds the snake was dead, only leaving a massive construct of a crystal snake in front of Naruto.

Naruto lost his footing again, as he felt the Kyuubi's chakra leave his system. His vision blackened as he saw the crystal snake beginning to crumble, and three figures jumping towards him.

 _Sakura_ …

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Tokubetsu Jounin – Special High Ninja: Tokubetsu Jounin are ninja who, rather than all-around jounin training, have jounin-level ability in a specific area or skill, much like warrant officers in real-world militaries. They are elite specialists in their areas and are often assigned as subordinates to regular jounin when their services are needed. One example of a Tokubetsu Jounin is Ibiki Morino, whose unique ability to completely understand the workings of the human mind makes him a jounin-level interrogation expert.

Ame – Rain: Also short for Amegakure

Amegakure – Literally meaning "Village Hidden by Rain": Amegakure is a small, yet highly industrialized hidden village located in an unnamed country. Its architecture is composed of several metallic skyscrapers with rowed ducts connected to them and mazy power lines surmounting. A number of smaller villages also surround Amegakure. As its name suggests, it rains almost constantly due to a storm above the village.

Oto – Sound: Also short for Otogakure

Otogakure - Literally meaning "Village Hidden by Sound": Otogakure no Sato is the personal hidden village of Orochimaru, which was founded for the express purpose of collecting ninja for his experiments and his quest to learn all techniques.

Fūton: Daitoppa – Wind Release: Great Breakthrough: This is a relatively simple technique that creates a sudden gust of wind, but its scale varies greatly depending on the user. If used by a superior shinobi, it has enough destructive power to knock down a large tree. The wind from the squall can blow away all things in the user's line of sight. A variation of the technique involves a smaller blast of wind which gets ignited with flame.

Fūton: Renkudan – Wind Release: Drilling Air Bullet: To use this technique, the user will first take a deep breath, and then pound the stomach to apply external pressure, the power of which it uses to shoot a highly compressed air ball from the users mouth. The expelled air ball is mighty enough to hollow out the ground, and knock through tree, and even rock. Because of the large quantity of chakra kneaded into it, it explodes the moment it reaches its target, dealing an enormous amount of damage, as well as leveling anything in its path. The original user of this is Shukaku, the one tailed demon raccoon, is able to fire multiple of these in rapid succession, having a certain level of control regarding the size of the bullets.

Shoton: Suishō no Shi - Crystal Release: Crystal Death: The user slams his hand into the ground, filling it with Shoton chakra. The chakra concentrates on the enemy, where after it forms razor-sharp crystal spikes that impales. From the impaling wound, anything, organic or otherwise, will crystallize, killing almost any enemy.

Iwa – Rock: Also short of Iwagakure

Iwagakure – "Hidden Stone Village"; literally meaning "Village Hidden by Rocks": Iwagakure is the hidden village of the Tsuchi no Kuni. As one of the Five Great Shinobi Countries, Iwagakure has a Kage as its leader known as the Tsuchikage, current being Ōnoki. Iwagakure is well-known for the rock-hard attitude of its shinobi; as soon as the Tsuchikage gives an order, the Iwa-nin do so without hesitation, even if it means death. The standard attire for shinobi from this village consists of red outfit — which can either have one, or both sleeves — a lapel which is usually found on the side without a sleeve and a brown flak jacket — which also may, or may not have a pouch attached to it. They also tend to wear mesh armor around their ankles. Iwagakure ninja seem to specialize in Doton techniques.

The rocky mountain ranges that surround the village and country provide a natural stronghold. The village profits from this advantageous position and is proud of its strong defenses. The village sits among a mountain range consisting of small narrow waterfalls, with the buildings being composed of rock and stone; shaped from large, elevated formations of rock into tower-like structures. Many of its buildings sit on cliffs connected by a network of bridges. The Tsuchikage's palace seems to be the tallest structure with a cone shaped roof.

Tsuchi no Kuni – Land of Earth: Tsuchi no Kuni has seen little attention in the series thus far. It is located north-west of the Hi no Kuni. Its government leader is the Earth Daimyo. The country is mostly comprised of desolate, rocky areas. The border of the Tsuchi no Kuni runs along a rocky mountain range, blocking communication with other countries. The wind blowing from the north passes over these mountains, carrying small rocks from the Land of Earth to the surrounding countries. This famous natural phenomenon is called "Rock Rain".


	11. The snake in the forest!

**Chapter 11: The Snake in the forest! Orochimaru vs. Sasuke and Sakura!**

Darkness. Pain. Hatred. All he could feel was those things. He didn't know where he was, or when he was… who was he again…? Oh yeah, he was Uzumaki Naruto, orphan of Konohagakure no Sato, Jinchurriki of the Kyuubi no Yoko, hated by the shinobi, despised by the villagers… The Kyuubi… The source of all his suffering… And that because of a single man; Namikaze Minato, the Yondaime Hokage, Konoha no Kiiroi Senko, war-hero of the third great shinobi war… Why him? Why did the strongest shinobi in centuries choose him? Why was it him that had to be damned? Hadn't the Kyuubi taken enough from him? Wasn't his parents' death enough for the Yondaime? Hadn't he suffered enough?

The pain, this unbearable pain! It wasn't only his non-existing body that hurt now, but his heart too. Everything hurt, and he had nowhere to run… There was only darkness, darkness to swallow him up whole, darkness mock him in his darkest hour, darkness to remind him of all the things he didn't accomplish, all the things he wouldn't accomplish, and the things he never could accomplish… He had never hurt this much before. He wanted to get away, but there was nowhere to go, nowhere to run…

Then out of nothing came flash brighter than the strongest Katon jutsu, so bright that he thought it was a new sun. It was somewhere, instead of this nowhere. He began running towards it, he started to feel his body; his chest, his legs, his arms, his head, his everything. He was something, somebody.

The darkness grabbed out after him, trying to hold him away from the beautiful light, the godsend light, but he wouldn't lose. He used all his powers to struggle, to get away from the awful thing that was darkness. He was getting closer! He could feel the warmth, the caring, and the love. He had to get there. But the darkness was so strong! He was so close! He couldn't be shown the way out, just to have it taken away. But he started to slow down. The darkness came from him again, dragging him away from the light, from the warmth, the caring, and the love. He couldn't take it, the hatred, the pain, the darkness. It came for him again. He started to lose to it, slowly, inch by inch; it won, dragging him away from the light. It got colder.

That's when he heard the voice, that familiar yet completely alien voice. It was soothing, knowing, caring. It gave him strength. He fought, he couldn't lose to the darkness, and he wouldn't. He had things to do, goals to accomplish! He was going to pass these exams, he was going to be acknowledged by the village of Konoha, and he was going to become the Hokage!

He used his newly gained strength to get out of the grasp of the coldness, the darkness. He used all his powers to get to the voice, to the light. He was winning. He was so close now, just a few more meters. Five meters, three meters, a half meter. He stretched out his hand to touch his savior. He was so close to the warmth, it burned his hand. But he didn't care; anything but the darkness. And he touched it.

Light exploded all around him, chasing the darkness away, the coldness away, the pain and hatred away. There was only light, only love, only warmth. He blinked a few times to get use to the brightness. What he saw was not what he expected. He was standing what he guessed was a room, but without walls. There wasn't much furniture here, only a small table, a chair, and a crib. He heard low, light breaths from it. He slowly stepped over to it, his breath getting stuck in his throat when he saw who was laying in it.

It was a baby, which couldn't be more than a day or two old. That wasn't what had gotten to Naruto; it was its appearance. Three very familiar whisker marks were across the cheeks, his blond hair was spiky and uncontrolled, bristling in all direction. The baby had his eyes open to show him the most deep, cerulean eyes, which he knew very well.

He got a shock as two people appeared in the middle of the 'room'. A blond man was kneeling, holding a long, red-haired woman to his chest. You could see that she was very beautiful, despite appearing so sick and weak. Once again his breath hitched as the man rose from his kneeling position, showing his full appearance. He had the same spiky blond hair as the baby, but longer bangs, framing his head, the same deep, cerulean kind eyes was position in his face. His whole body structure just shouted 'I have power, and I'm not afraid of using it if I'm forced'. It was the Yondaime Hokage.

"Why" the red-haired woman weakly spoke. The pair didn't seem to have noticed the stranger in their home. Naruto stood frozen, not daring to make any movements

Minato began walking over to the crib "never mind that now… Just stay with Naruto." His eyes widened in realization as he heard what the older blond said. He looked in disbelief between the man standing over the crib, to the woman lying in it beside the baby.

The woman hugged the baby tightly, her eyes watering "Naruto…" She didn't notice the dark and grim look which was displayed in her husband's face. His fist tightened a second as a resolute expression took over the grim look. He went to where a wall should have been, and opened what appeared to be a closet. He quickly took on a white cloak with red flames dancing at the bottom. On the backside the kanji for 'Yondaime Hokage' was displayed. Naruto had no doubts now; this was the legendary Konoha no Kiiroi Senko.

"Minato… Thank you" the woman spoke, "good luck".

"I'll be right back" and with that he disappeared in a flash of yellow.

She just lay there, looking at her newly born son. He began to sob lightly, almost as if he knew what would come to be. The woman comforted him "There, there Naru-chan. everything will be all right." But he didn't stop, he began to cry louder. "Shhh, nothing is going to happen to you, just go back to sleep." But it didn't stop him; she sighed deeply with a smile on her lips, and began to sing for him. Chills went down Naruto's spine as he recognized the voice; it was the voice that had saved him from the darkness, the voice which had haunted his dreams, since he don't know when. He sat down on the chair simply listening to what he could only guess was his mom. A serene smile spread on his face

 _"Just when you think_

 _Hope is lost_

 _And giving up_

 _Is all you got,_

 _Blue turns black,_

 _Your confidence is cracked,_

 _And there seems no turning back from here_

 _Sometimes there isn't an obvious explanation_

 _Why the holiest hearts can feel the strongest palpitations_

 _That's when you can build a bridge of light,_

 _That's what turns the wrongs all right_

 _That's when you can't give up the fight_

 _That's when love turns nighttime into day,_

 _That's when loneliness goes away,_

 _That's why you gotta be strong tonight,_

 _And only love can build us a bridge of light"_

Naruto could've listened to that for hours, maybe even days, and not get tired of hearing it. He closed his eyes as the song went on and on, just reveling in the peace he felt. But he suddenly frowned when the voice became lower and lower. He tried to open his eyes, but he couldn't. He could only sit there as the angelic song was taken away from him.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Naruto winced; he could feel all the pain in his body. He wasn't in the light anymore. What was that place anyway? Had it all been a dream? He really wasn't the Yondaime's son…? No, it couldn't have been a dream, not with all those emotions he felt. He could still feel the peace from the light, the love, and the concern; two feelings he never really had felt before, but instantly knew what they were.

He turned over to feel a warm glow from behind his eyelids. It was nice. Kept him warm now that he was lying here on the forest floor. But how could that be? How did he get here again? The last thing he remembered was the snake, the snake which poofed away, just like a summons's? A snake summoner? The only Konoha-nin with a contract to the snakes were Anko, and no one, not even her, was allowed to interfere in the exams. But who else could have the snake summon? Who again was holding the contract? He thought about it for a few seconds, before the realization came crashing down on him _'Orochimaru! It was Orochimaru of the Densetsu no Sannin! But then… Sakura, Sasuke!'_ He sat up as soon as he had concluded it, but quickly regretted it and grasped his head. He got very lightheaded, and his whole body still hurt – not as much as before, but still a lot. He winced and looked down his body; he was covered in bandages. He frowned once again _'but who could've done it? For that matter, why am I sitting in a camp, and not lying beaten up somewhere in the forest?'_

"Oh, you're finally awake. I have been waiting for quite some time" a foreign female voice sounded. Naruto, while still quite dazed by the lightheadedness, looked lazily over at the direction the voice had come from, and looked straight at a blond girl. He recognized her from the day before, at Ibiki's exam. He analyzed her face; it was smooth, beautiful even. Especially her eyes drew his attention; they were light blue, and her pupils were slit, just like a cats eyes, while they were set in an angle. They were just under her hitai-ate, which proudly displayed the three clouds which are Kumogakure's symbol.

 _'Wait'_ Naruto thought _'Kumogakure… Kumogakure!'_ Naruto didn't waste another second. He didn't show any concern to his body's condition, as he jumped from the makeshift bed as fast as he could, making a crystal tanto in the process, and got into a battle stance at the other side of the camp. He realized his grave mistake to disregard his body, as the crystal shattered and he fell clutching his left side.

"Baka! You're in no condition to jump around like that! You flew like a cannonball through several kilometers of forest!" it came from the Kumo Kunoichi as she stood up and made her way over to him

The blond Konoha Genin looked carefully at her, not really sure what to make of her, "You're not going to attack me?"

She snorted "and why would I do that? Not after all the trouble I went through to treat you"

No, Naruto really didn't know what to make of her. Why would a foreign shinobi, a shinobi from Kumogakure nonetheless, treat him? It was normal that Genin from the same village helped each other, or at least not attack or hinder each other, during the exams, but it was very rare, even for allied nations, to help teams from foreign villages. Naruto didn't take his eyes off her, trying to keep his guard up as much as he could "You treated me? Why?"

"Why? Because you were beaten up pretty badly, that's why" she answered a little annoyed. Here she had used hours to treat him, and he reacted like this. She stopped walking waited for him to put down his guard

Naruto shook his head "That's not what I meant. Kumo and Konoha aren't allies; far from it. You used the peace treaty as a way to try and get your hands on the Byakugan. It's just disgusting how you would use Konoha's good faith like that"

The Kumo Kunoichi snorted yet again; he had no idea what really happened that night. She looked at Naruto yet another time; he was barely standing, his whole body shaking lightly in exertion, and blood dripping from the now loose bandages. She raised an eyebrow _'while it's rather foolish to go around jumping like that with such serious injuries, I can't deny that I'm impressed… But even with his so-called healing abilities, he still is far from in a condition where he could safely move around. Then again… If he really is one of us, then it isn't that surprising.'_

She looked at him with a raised eyebrow, before resigning and sat down on the ground. "Look, I'm not going to attack you, and neither are my teammates"

Naruto narrowed his eyes; he had forgotten everything about her teammates "Then where are they?"

She shrugged "out getting wood, water, and food. Now come here so I can treat you before you pass out again from blood loss."

Naruto didn't get out of his sloppy stance _'Should I really trust her? If she wanted to get rid of me, then why would she treat me? But what other options do I have? I could try run for it. But, with these injuries I wouldn't get far… She would catch me within a few minutes. I could call for help using that, but I don't think I have enough chakra to do it without passing out, leaving me at her mercy. And I could of course just put my trust in her… Sigh, doesn't seem like I have a choice. No matter what I do, I will be at her mercy. Might as well not waste any energy'._

He carefully got out of his stance "fine. But I'll be watching you." He limped over to the now standing Kumo Genin, who helped him over to the campfire again, where she began changing and tighten the bandages. He couldn't help but blush as he stood bare-chested, as she looked over his wounds.

She raised an eyebrow at what she saw; he really did have rather impressive healing abilities. The long gashes he had when they found him, where almost gone. _'If all his wounds heal as fast as these'_ she thought as she began stroking his chest lightly, feeling the wounds _'he must never have gotten, and never will get, any scars.'_

"Hmmmh" it came from Naruto

She looked inquiring up at him. His cheeks was as red as a ripe tomato. She soon noticed why; she had been stroking him all over his muscular chest, checking for the wounds. As she realized what he must've thought and felt, she blushed deeply, and quickly changed the bandages. She sat down on the other side of the bonfire.

"So, what's your name?" she asked, eager to shift from the awkward atmosphere that had appeared

"You first" Naruto said, still not trusting the girl completely

She rolled her eyes "My name is Yugito. Nii Yugito"

Naruto pulled his knees up to his chest, and rested his aching head on them with closed eyes "Name is Uzumaki Naruto"

\- Hours earlier -

" _Fūton: Renkudan_!"

"NARUTO!"

Sasuke and Sakura watched in horror as their teammate was hurled away, through the trees with enormous force from the hidden Sannin's jutsu. The now obvious non-Genin turned her attention back to the two Konoha shinobi in front of her. She cracked a smile

"Now, where were we?"

Sakura was shaking out of control. No matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't stop shaking. It didn't help when Naruto, the strongest Genin she knew – yes, even stronger than Sasuke – was shot through the forest, without the Kusa shinobi even breaking a sweat. She felt something wet hitting her arms and legs. She looked down to find droplets of water. Still shaking, she moved her hand to her chin, feeling more water. _'Tears?'_ she thought _'even with all the training I have been going through, It still only took that little effort from him to take me down. Naruto could handle it with no problem, and Sasuke is also able to move… Wait, what is he going to do with that kunai!?_ ' While Sakura had been trying to get herself under control again, Sasuke had done his own thinking; they needed to get out of there. He had taken out a kunai, and was standing up, barely. Sakura's eyes widened in realization as she knew what he was going to do.

"And what do you think you're going to do with that, Sasuke-kun?" the Kusa-nin asked as she began walking towards them.

' _She is coming. But what can I do? I must… Naruto could pull it together. Sasuke pulled it together… I also have to pull it together!'_ the pink-haired Kunoichi thought. That thought repeated more as she saw their opponent now taking out two kunai

"Relax; I will end it in a flash. You won't have time to suffer" she said, as she almost casually walked closer to them, meter by meter, step by step. She stopped when she was only a few meters in front of the frozen members of Team 7, drawing back the kunai, ready to throw "I wanted to have a little fun, but… Now I'm disappointed. Maybe your teammate will be a bigger challenge. Maybe I should go look after him, when I'm done with you." He threw the kunai.

As surge of determination crashed through Sasuke and Sakura when their friends name was mentioned; they couldn't give up… he never would. Sasuke turned the kunai towards his thigh, rushing his kunai towards it, while Sakura, with all her strength and might, grabbed her left pinkie, twisting and turning it. There sounded a nauseating crack, and a sickening stabbing sound, and the two Genin was away, leaving the kunai to sink deep into the bark of the tree behind them.

Orochimaru looked down on the bloodied grass, and couldn't help but crack another smile in excitement "I see… They got rid of the fear with pain. Even the civilian-born… Maybe I will have a bit of a challenge after all"

\- A few hundred meters away -

Sasuke and Sakura sat oppose to each other on a large branch, away from the maniac. Sakura looked down on her now purple and swollen left hand. Her pinkie was sticking away from the hand, defiantly not sitting in the right position. She winced as she tried to move it. She moved her right hand over the left, grabbing it

"Sakura, what are you doing?" Sasuke asked, with… with concern?

She didn't have time to care about it, or answer him. She had to do this before her determination left her again. She took a deep breath, and snapped the finger back in place. She bit down her scream, clenching her jaw tight, and tears streaming down her cheeks again. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself. Finally she answered her crush's question "I had to set it back in place… else it would get infected, or start growing back together at a wrong angle. It would hurt much more later on." She took out bandages and wrapped it around her injured hand.

Sasuke nodded at the explanation, finally taking out the kunai from his thigh _'We need to get out of here. We need to run. She's going to find us out soon. But how?! How should we run away from something like that?'_ He was so distressed he didn't even notice the blood seeping out from his wound. While still shaken up, Sakura had somehow managed to calm somewhat down – or at least going from panicked to distressed.

"Sasuke-kun, we need to stop the bleeding. We can't afford to have you pass out now!" she said, beginning to treat the wound, not even waiting for an answer. However, Sasuke quickly pushed her away, while jumping back, and activating his Sharingan in the process. She was about to ask him why, when she saw it. A giant snake was currently coming down at the exact spot they had been, biting the branch to toothpicks.

"I was so upset that I didn't notice the presence of a snake before it was over us…?" the Uchiha heir asked himself in disbelief as he flew through the air. He didn't get an answer, as the snake now launched of off the branch, aiming for him. As it did, he felt the presence of him. Panic struck like a lightning bolt.

"Don't get near me!" he screamed while throwing six shuriken at the snakes open mouth. They went straight through its head, and it soon lay dead in the trees, blood seeping from its head and mouth. Sasuke and Sakura tried to get their breath from the attack, thinking it was over. How wrong they could be.

The snakes' skin started to crack at its neck joint, like something was trying to get out. Slowly but surely, the fake Genin emerged from the snake

"You can't let your guard down for even a second" it came from the evil woman. "Prey need to strain their minds all the time, and run around… in the presence of a predator!" She was now fully emerged. She launched from the snake, aiming at Sasuke again. But she was changed; from the waist down she almost looked like a serpent-like. She even moved like a snake. Approaching the panic-struck Sasuke with incredible speeds. She got closer, and closer! She was now on the same branch. Just as she was about to attack, she stopped in her tracks as kunai and shuriken alike struck just in front of her.

"L-leave Sasuke-kun alone!" it came from the pinkette

Sasuke looked at Sakura with the same wide eyes he had been looking with for the last half hour. Though she was still shaking lightly, she was ready to attack. This was a Sakura he hadn't seen before. She was way different from the girl at the academy, or even the girl in Nami…

He couldn't let her die here.

"Sakura, run! Do not die here! She is way above our level! Run while you can!"

First she looked at him in shock, shock that he cared enough her that he would give his life for her. Then, to his great surprise, she glared at him "like hell I am! We are a team, all of us, no matter if you like it or not! I get that you're only on this team to get power, to get your so called revenge, but you're still my teammate, Naruto's teammate, Kaka-sensei's student! I'm not going to leave you to the likes of that… that… Hebi-teme!"

No one but Naruto, especially his so-called fan club girls, had ever spoken to him like that. It struck a chord. If she spoke to him like that, he must've been really far out. His eyes slowly changed, his posture changed. He looked back at the hidden Sannin, who noticed it all _'so… He wants to fight? That's great. I will finally see what the last 'loyal' Uchiha can do!'_

"And so… it begins!" the female Kusa Nin laughed while changing back to having legs. They stood like that, the Uchiha heir and the snake user, just looking at their opponent, ready to react at the slightest movement. It was the snake-user that finally did the first move

" _Sen'eijashu_!" she said in a punching motion. Dozens of snakes appeared out of her sleeve, aiming their poisonous fangs at the Uchiha. His eyes widened, and he quickly jumped over at the branch Sakura was standing. Orochimaru smiled, as if it had been part of his plan. He pulled up his left sleeve to show a weird looking seal. He bit his thumb and smeared the blood over it, and began to go through hand seals. Sasuke immediately recognized the seals, but before he could warn Sakura, Orochimaru yelled the name of the jutsu

" _Kuchiyose no Jutsu_!"

The two Genin were hit by a rough gust, as chakra emerged from their opponent. When it was finally over they found the snake-user had summoned a very large snake; it was at least thirty or forty meters long. He laughed again "What cute prey we have here. For now, eat them!" The snake didn't need to be told twice, it brought its head back, before striking.

Sakura acted before even thinking. She remembered her training; mold chakra in her arm to increase its strength, and strike! She punched the branch below them, causing it to break from the tree, and fall down into the depths of the forest. Sure, they would maybe get hurt by the fall, but it was better than fighting a giant snake!

Sasuke was surprised by the sudden free fall, but quickly realized it was Sakura's doing. They both collected chakra at their feet, and came to a hold on the tree's bark. They nodded to the other, and started to jump through the rotten-looking forest together, trying to get away from the snake summoner. It hadn't been more than a few seconds later that they heard the forest behind them getting destroyed by something big; it was the snake, with its summoner, going after them. It was that train of thoughts that left them totally unprepared when the summoner came from their right side, punching Sakura harshly into a tree, and Sasuke through the air. He saw the giant snake behind him, coming to its summoner call. Sasuke twisted in the air, and landed on a branch

"Sakura!" he called her. He looked at her with worry, relief filling his face when he saw her crack open an eye. He turned to glare at the summoner; he reminded him way too much of a certain man. He remembered it like it was yesterday. He closed his eyes, as he remembered what he had said to him… _'Foolish brother. If you wish to kill me, hate me, detest me… And survive in an unsightly way… Run… Run…! And cling to life!'_ No! He wouldn't let anyone he cared about the least get hurt again! He opened his eyes, his Sharingan now evolved.

Orochimaru smiled yet again _'he is definitely part of the Uchiha Clan. His blood must be making him excited.'_

Sakura jumped down on a branch, violently coughing up blood as she kneeled down. Sasuke saw it _'we can't keep running in this condition. Then… I must fight him with everything I got!'_

Orochimaru pulled up his sleeve again. "I will take my time to see how strong you are" he laughed, and recalled his snake to its own summoning world, getting into his stance.

Sasuke didn't even flinch at the gust. He had made a resolve, and he wasn't going to back down now. He brought out a kunai and put it in his mouth _'I have to survive to kill my brother. When that thought came to my mind… I realized that I was the one who was acting like an idiot. Naruto… Sakura… How can someone who can't even risk his own life here, even think about killing the man who slaughtered his own clan?'_

Sasuke charged. He jumped into the air, throwing several kunai at his opponent, who dodged them with ease. He jumped from tree to tree, finally getting to the snake-user, and brought a punch and a kick to his chest, both of which Orochimaru simply blocked. He retorted, and tried to kick Sasuke while he was in the air, but Sasuke spun around, barely dodging it. He used the momentum from the spin, and landed crouching a few meters away. They didn't stay that way for long, as both charged again with amazing speeds. They engaged in close combat, each trying to get into the other's guard. Unbeknown to Sasuke, Orochimaru was merely trying, but was greatly impressed by the skills of this Genin. They kept throwing punches and kicks at their opponent. Sasuke dodged under another kick _'I can see it!'_

Orochimaru punched at Sasuke's chest, the force forcing them a few meters apart. The snake-summoner decided to take a different approach. He ran around Sasuke in a radius, with speeds approaching jounin-level. The only reason Sasuke could see it, was because of his newly evolved Sharingan _'I can see!'_ He dodged when his opponent came at him, ramming into the tree where he had stood a fraction of a second earlier. He brought the ram seal up, took a deep breath, and spewed fire at the snake. And again. And again! Soon Orochimaru was engulfed in a sea of flames.

The flames dispersed to show no Orochimaru, but Sasuke saw where he was; inside the tree, making his way to Sasuke. He emerged from it, slashing at Sasuke, who jumped back and dodged it. The fight came to a hold, with Sasuke standing meters away from the half emerged snake-user.

Orochimaru looked analytically at Sasuke _'Good. He was able to predict where I was going to move, and attacked accordingly. He must be able to see me, even at mid-jounin-speeds.'_ Orochimaru gathered wind chakra in his hand, and used a seal-less _'Fūton: Reppusho'_ , forcing Sasuke to jump away once again.

The raven-haired boy jumped the trees again, until he was just above his opponent. He gathered chakra in his feet, and pushed off, grabbing his opponent in the process. He latched on to the head-down snake-user

"I got you now!"

They approached a branch at increasing speeds. Then they hit it, Orochimaru head first, making cracks in the bark. He stood like that, head buried a few centimeters, before his arms went limp. Sasuke jumped away, watching as the legs also went limp. He almost thought he had won, but then the apparently dead Kusa-nin began to shake, and then transformed back into earth.

"Kawarimi?" Sasuke asked, but had to dodge a hail of kunai before he could think further about it. He was forced out over the branch. Mid-air, he took out wires, and latched them onto a small branch, swinging around the whole tree, landing on another branch. Before he could get foothold, his opponent emerged from the shadows, and completely pummeled him with punches and kicks much faster than before. He punched hard, making Sasuke fall on the branch a few meters away.

"Sasuke-kun!"

Sakura arrived, having gotten left behind, and saw the situation. She felt hopeless; she wanted to help, but she was in no condition to do it. She felt so weak, so helpless right now!

Orochimaru walked closer to the Uchiha heir and ' _hmph'ed_ '.

"That was too easy. You're not living up to the name of Uchiha, I'm disappointed. Oh well… I'm going to slowly beat you, and then kill you… Just like a bug" the hidden Sannin preached. What he didn't know was that Sasuke had planted small bombs on him. And they went off now. She was surprised by the small blast wave, forcing him to take a few steps forward, and got down on one knee.

Sasuke used the distraction to get back up, and jumped into the air. He threw a bunch larger, different shuriken at his opponent, all connected with wire. They all flew past Orochimaru, and the tree behind him. Soon enough the snake-summoner was surrounded by wires, but it wasn't the end of it. Sasuke pulled at the wires, forcing them to come back at him. For the first time in the fight, he was actually surprised _'These are Sharingan-Controlled Triple Windmill Blades_!' The wires tightened, and he was latched onto the tree.

Sasuke, holding a wire in his mouth, went through hand seals " _Katon: Ryuuka no Jutsu_!"

A large fire quickly ran all the way with the wire, assaulting Orochimaru's body with intense heat and fire, even burning through the tree behind him. The scream he emitted was other-worldly, and Sakura couldn't help the chills that ran through her body. The intense inferno lasted for a good fifteen seconds before dying slowly down. And there was silence. Neither Sasuke nor Sakura dared move; they knew this opponent was strong, and they weren't going to let their guards down once again. But even then, Sasuke sunk down a bit. This was one of the strongest and most chakra-taxing techniques he knew. And he had already used a lot of both energy and chakra at the fight.

Sakura saw it, and while keeping her guard up, jumped down to him with a limb.

"Sasuke-kun, are you ok? You got to get a hold of yourself" she asked concerned.

He didn't get to answer. His opponent got free of the burned-through wires, and opened his eye in his melted face. Sakura fell down on her knees right away, while Sasuke began shaking once again _'A paralyzing jutsu?'_

"I must say that I'm impressed" She said. But her voice sounded different; almost like two voice overlaying each other. "That you can use your Sharingan so well at your age. You live up to the name of Uchiha indeed" now his voice was completely changed. It was way deeper, masculine and older. I want you after all"

Sasuke took a closer look. Half the face was burned off, and underneath was… another face? He could see very pale skin, and around the eyes were purple-like markings. His hitai-ate had also change; it didn't show the Kusa symbol anymore, but the music-note that is the newly founded Otogakure's symbol. He screamed in frustration; would this bastard ever just die?

"You two are definitely brothers" Orochimaru continued. "Your eyes carry more potential than Itachi."

Sasuke froze at the mention of his brother's name "Who are you?!"

"My name is Orochimaru. If you wish to see me again, get through this Exam as if your life depended on it. In other words, you'll have to defeat my subordinates."

Sakura couldn't stay quiet anymore "What nonsense are you chattering about? We never want to see your face anymore!"

Orochimaru laughed at her outburst "it doesn't work that way." He brought his hand in a weird seal, and his neck extended. Before either of the Genin realized it, he was biting Sasuke's neck.

"Sasuke-kun!" there was no response.

Orochimaru let go of Sasuke, and brought his neck back to normal size. Three marks appeared on Sasuke's neck. He quickly grasped it in pain.

"Sasuke-kun! You! What have you done to Sasuke-kun!?" Sakura asked with both worry and anger.

"I gave him a farewell present. Sasuke-kun will seek me. He will seek me for power. It was fun being able to see a lot of your moves. But not I got to go… I have an appointment with a certain blond-haired shinobi" he replied as he sunk into the ground

Sakura's eyes went wide "You stay away from Naruto!" But he was already gone. She watched the spot with horror _'I'm sorry Naruto… We couldn't stop him. I hope you will be ok…'_ She was broken from her thoughts when she heard Sasuke scream in pain. She got over to him "Get a hold of yourself, Sasuke-kun… Come on!" He screamed one last time, before passing out onto her.

"Sasuke-kun… Naruto …" she almost sound pleadingly. She couldn't hold her tears anymore; the whole situation was just too horrible. There was a maniac named Orochimaru running loose in the forest. He had send Naruto crashing through gods knows how many kilometers of forest, had beat up her and Sasuke, giving Sasuke a weird mark in the process, and was now going to find Naruto and probably do the same. It was too much. She hugged Sasuke tightly.

"I… What should I do…?" she asked herself closing her eyes in hopelessness.

 _'You're strong Sakura-chan. You just don't realize how strong'_

Her eyes opened again, as she remembered what Naruto had told her. Who was she to ask what she should do? She already knew what she should do.

\- With Orochimaru -

The sun had gone down by now. The forest was covered in shadows and darkness. Orochimaru emerged slowly from the earth; the fight had taken a lot more from him, more than he had expected.

"I guess I'll rest for now… By tomorrow Naruto-kun should be good as well…" he smiled "I can't wait to see what your son can do Minato-Kun, Kushina-chan." He leaned up by a tree, slowly sinking into it. When only his head was exposed, he closed his eyes, and resigned himself to the slumber.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Naruto twisted and turned in his sleep. While he didn't get back to the darkness, he didn't see the light either. But the red-haired woman, who he could only presume was his mother, haunted his dreams with her song. In every corner her saw her red hair, in every place, she heard her song. She was almost there, but not quite.

That was not the only thing that haunted him; he could only imagine what Orochimaru was doing to his teammates and friends. He was angry with himself, angry for charging so carelessly at a so obviously stronger opponent, angry that he got hit by that Fūton jutsu, angry that he got so hurt, and angry that he couldn't heal faster. If it took this long for the Kyuubi to fix him up, then it must've really been bad. The best thing he could do now was rest, and let the fox do its work. Or he would, if someone wasn't talking so loudly

"But, what if he really is what you think he is? What if he loses control and kill us all? What if he destroys the whole forest, us with it? Then A-Sama would declare war because of- OUCH!" a male voice sounded

"Gosh Omoi, that won't happen! Look at him, does he look like he could go on a rampage?" a female voice scolded

"Does Yugito look like she could go on a rampage?" the male retorted

And there was silence for a few seconds. "He got you there" sounded the amused voice of Yugito. The other female sounded like she snorted at it. But what was it they thought he was? Did they know about the Kyuubi? No, they couldn't… could they?

"Why is it we're helping Kumo again?" another male voice sounded. It sounded familiar, as if he had heard it before, and yet he couldn't put a face on it.

"Because they're helping Naruto-kun! And stop complaining now!" Sounded an irate female voice. He knew that voice... it was… Haku! But what was she doing here? That must mean that it was her team that were the other three shapes he had seen before he passed out, with the first three being Yugito's team.

"I-I hope he is o-ok. I can't e-even imagine who co-ould've done something l-like this to him" a nervous voice sounded. Chojuru's voice Naruto concluded.

"Wonder how his weak teammates are. Probably lying dead somewhere" Kouhei said.

His teammates. Sakura! Sasuke! How could he have forgotten about them? He opened his eyes and sat up, surprising the six Genin in the campsite. It was filled with sunlight, so he had slept through the night. That must've been enough rest. He had to go now. He looked around to see their faces. He already knew Haku, Chojuru, Kouhei, and Yugito. The last two he assumed was Yugito's teammates; a boy and a girl. Both had very dark skin, only common in Kumo. The girl had red hair, and the boy had white.

"Naruto-kun! Are you ok?" Haku asked quickly at his side.

"Yeah, I am now. But I need to get going" Naruto said

"Hey, you wait just a second mister" the red-haired teammate said. "We help treat you and watch over you, and you're not even going to explain yourself? Who the hell did that to you?"

"Orochimaru" he answered flatly. When he saw their faces of recognition and shock he nodded, "yeah, that Orochimaru, of the Densetsu no Sannin."

"But how do you know that?" the dark-skinned boy asked

"The snake that attacked me" Naruto said while looking for his shinobi gear around the campsite. "The snake dispelled when it died. And only summoned animals does that. And before you ask, I know it was Orochimaru's because only one other person has signed the snake contract; Mitarashi Anko. And as you all know, she isn't allowed to interfere in the exams, unless it's a really dire situation." He paused as he began equipping his gear "even if Orochimaru let someone else sign the contract, it would only be someone who was in league with him. To be honest, I really hope it was Orochimaru, else we have two jounin-plus level shinobi running around in here." He checked if he had all he needed, and then turned towards the two foreign teams "Thank you for treating me, but I really got to find my team. If Orochimaru really is in here, Kami knows what he has done with them." He was about to take off when both Haku's and Yugito's voices sounded

"Wait"

"Hold on"

They turned to look at each other, and Haku continued first "We're coming with you"

"What!?" Kouhei said, while Chojuru just looked even more nervous

"Us too" Yugito then said, causing similar reactions from her two teammates.

Naruto looked at them for a second, and then shook his head "I can't ask you to do anything like that"

Yugito gave him a real cat-smile "then it's good you didn't. We're coming whether you like it or not, right Omoi, Karui?"

Omoi sighed "I guessed it can't be helped… If we don't go, you won't let it go, and you will probably end going off by yourself, and up against one of the Sannin, you will- OUCH"

Karui rubbed her hand "Stop over-thinking things!" She turned to Yugito, took a look at Naruto, and then back at Yugito "I guess if we treated him like that, it wouldn't be very good to let him go on his own. Besides, we already have our scrolls, and there is still over three days till we gotta be at the tower"

Haku was also trying to convince her team, looking at Kouhei with her puppy-eyes. He made the grave mistake of looking, effectively losing the argument. He signed resigned "fine, we'll go with blondie"

The Hyoton-user looked at Chojuru, who just smiled at her "you know I'll go with you anywhere"

The six genin looked at Naruto, expecting him to lead. He smiled broadly at him, and bowed low "thank you very much. You won't regret it! You will have a favor with the future Hokage of Konohagakure!" They nodded at him.

"By the way, how are we going to find your team? This place is rather big, and your team is sure to have moved from where you last saw them. And we need to contact the outside somehow; we can't take on Orochimaru all by ourselves" Omoi said. Karui and Yugito looked surprised at him, as he had actually said something straight to the point. He shrugged and took another lollipop in his mouth "I have my moments."

Naruto grinned at them "Already thought about that." He brought his hands together in a seal none of them recognized; he brought two fingers from each hand into a cross.

" _Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_!"

The whole clearing was covered in smoke. When it had cleared, all six foreign shinobi had eyes as big as teacups. There must've been close to, if not more than, a thousand Naruto's. The original nodded at them "you all know what to do. Look far and wide after Sakura and Sasuke. If you find them, then make another clone, and make it dispel. If you get the knowledge that one has found them, find a hiding spot, and try not to get spotted. Dispel twenty every five minutes by then. Now, go!" With that the blond army jumped through the trees. Soon enough there was only the original Naruto with his new allies.

Karui got out of her daze "That takes care of that, but how are we going to contact the outside? We can't exactly just go out a gate."

Naruto only shushed her, making her glare a bit. Naruto brought his hands together in the ram seal and concentrated _. 'Feel the chakra throughout your body. Mold it, and focus it at the hara… Compress it into a sphere, squeeze and compress from every side. Once it compressed as much as possible, release it all at once!'_

The six Genin were shocked once again, as Naruto's navel area began glow blue with chakra, and even more so when it expelled in a thick wall of chakra, knocking them all of their feet. They could see it go on and on throughout the forest in all direction. Naruto panted lightly, but it wasn't too bad "Hokage-Jiji knows that I'm the only one in the village that can do that. When he sees it, he will know something is wrong"

"B-but Naruto-k-kun, the Hokage-mansion is in the o-other end of the v-village" Chojuru said

Kouhei snorted "Yeah, do you expect it to travel over hundred-and-twenty kilometers?"

Naruto shrugged "It will travel at least ninety kilometers, which is enough. He will be able to see it, and if he doesn't, the ANBU are sure to alert him." He ignored the look of awe from five of the six, and then got a stern look on his face. Upon remembering the seal he made on his arm he looked seeing it was broken in places, ' _Shit. Must have been damaged when I was cannonballing through the forest._ ' He looks to everyone.

"Now, we really need to get going."

With that he started moving; the Kumo and Kiri teams following him close behind. While he knew the situation was dire, he couldn't help but be impressed by their little gathering. Here he was helped by a team from Kumo, a village Konoha was barely having any relations to at the moment, and a team from Kiri, a village that had been ravaged by civil war, and hadn't been in alliances – ever.

He jumped through the forest, getting to the location he had last seen his teammates _'Sakura-chan… Sasuke-teme… Please be ok'_

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Sen'eijashu - Hidden Shadow Snake Hands: This technique allows the user to eject snakes from their wrist or sleeve, usually after a punching motion. The snakes are used primarily to attack from a distance and, being snakes, can inflict multiple poisonous wounds on the victim's body or hold them in place. The snakes can also open their mouths to extend Kusanagi-like blades.

This technique can also be classified as a variation of the Kuchiyose no Jutsu. This technique can also produce snakes from different parts of the user's body, as seen when Orochimaru created a snake in his mouth to attack the Sandaime Hokage during their battle.

Kuchiyose no Jutsu – Summoning technique: The Kuchiyose no Jutsu is a space–time Ninjutsu that allows the summoner to transport animals or people across long distances instantly.

Before an animal summoning can be performed, a prospective summoner must first sign a contract with a given species. The contract comes in the form of a scroll, on which the contractor uses their own blood to sign their name and place their fingerprints and once signed is valid even after the contractors death. After this they need only offer an additional donation of blood on the hand they signed the contract with, mold their chakra with hand seals and then plant the hand they signed the contract with at the location they wish to summon the creature. The amount of chakra used during the summoning determines how powerful the summoned creature can be.

It should be noted that anyone can summon a contracted animal as long as they have the blood from someone who has made a contract, the seal of the summoned creature, along with a source of sufficient chakra that the summon will accept. A creature is capable of determining who is attempting to summon it from the chakra used.

Once summoned, the animal can perform a task or help the user in battle. The summon is not required to help the user, and may be more of a hindrance than an ally. In addition, summons are able to summon their summoner. They may also wear a hitai-ate, suggesting a loyalty to only one village, or clan.

Katon: Ryuuka no Jutsu – Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique: The user breathes fire along a cord or any other type of long object, which rushes forward in straight line catching the enemy on fire. A line of enemies can be used as the conductor as well. The flames are meant to target, and assault the enemy's upper body just like a projectile weapon.


	12. Preparing for battle against the snake

**Chapter 12: Preparing for battle against the snake!**

Team 9, consisting of Higarashi Tenten, Hyuuga Neji, and Rock Lee, were jumping through the canopies of the forty-fourth training ground. They had already beaten down some Ame Genin, and were lucky enough that they had had the Scroll of Earth – the scroll they needed. Now they were jumping, running, and anything in between, as fast as they could towards the tower. The longer they were in the forest, the bigger the risk was that they would be taken down by an opposing team.

They hadn't really talked much more than necessary, mostly because of Neji. He was still… upset Tenten guessed, because she had withhold information about 'an enemy', as Neji so affectionately had called him, from her team. Tenten sighed: she had respect for the branch-member of the Hyuuga clan, but he really could be a pain in the ass. It wouldn't hurt him to loosen up just the slightest.

Naruto had told her his Shoton secret, and had specifically asked her not to tell anyone, so of course she hadn't. That didn't matter anymore because of that four-eyed Kabuto-something. She wasn't going to betray her blond friend. While she didn't know why, she did know that he didn't have any friends… well now he had that pink-head, his crush nonetheless, as his friend too.

"Argh!" it came from Neji as he deactivated his Doujutsu, almost at the same time as birds from almost every tree took off.

"Are you all right?" Lee said, already being beside the kneeling Neji.

Said stoic Hyuuga blinked a few times, apparently to get spots away from his eyes. "Prepare yo-", was all he managed say before the air became thick and electric. Tenten and Lee immediately got into a defensive stance around the still half-blind Hyuuga, ready for anything coming at them. Soon after they saw what had blinded their teammate and making the noise; a fast-moving, thick wall of chakra. They braced themselves as it washed over them, ticking their skin in the process. As fast as it had appeared, it disappeared along with the humming and electricity.

"What was that!?" Neji asked to himself as much as his teammates. Tenten had a pretty good idea of what it was… she just hoped she wasn't right. Because if she was, then-

"Tenten, look at your pouch!" Lee exclaimed pointing at said pouch with large motions. Tenten twisted herself to see what he was talking about: through the crack of her pouch you could see a dimmed pink glow. She took the pouch off and put it on the ground. With her teammates at her side, they all crouched down, and carefully opened it to see what could be the source of the light. Lee's eyes showed recognition, while Neji's was immediately scrunched into a glare, as she took the crystal six-sided shuriken she had gotten from Naruto so long ago. She had a habit of taking it anywhere, even on missions. But she had never seen it like this: slowly pulsing with energy, and emitting beautiful light.

Neji turned his glare from the shuriken to his female teammate, "what is that?"

Tenten didn't answer right away: She was going over the possibilities of why Naruto had used that big chakra wave. Surely he must've mastered it enough by now to not make such a big one… which meant that he was sending a message… he was in trouble! Determination etched its way onto her face

"It's a gift from Naruto. We have to find him now!" she said, getting up from her squatting position and faced the way the chakra had come from

"No we are not! We need to get to the tower as fast as possible!" Neji said harshly. That blond was only fated to be last, not matter if he had a Kekkai Genkai or not, and he wouldn't waste his time on him.

"I don't care if you will come or not, Neji!" Tenten said in an equally harsh tone, surprising the other members of her team: she never talked to them like that. "Naruto is one of my best friends, and he is in trouble! I will go either way!"

Lee, who had stayed quiet so far, rather impressively if you take into account that he, was normally a bigger ball of energy than Naruto, and decided to finally come with an input. "Neji, I will go with Tenten. Naruto-kun is also my friend, and I will not leave him if he is in trouble", he said in a calm but steely voice.

The Hyuuga prodigy changed between glaring at the green-clothed boy, and the weapon-mistress, before finally giving in with an annoyed sigh, "fine. Let's go find him then."'

With that, Team 9 took off further into the Forest of Death to find a certain sapphire-eyed Genin from Konoha.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

The examiner for the second exam, Mitarashi Anko, was sitting on top of the stall where the Genin had come to get their scrolls. She was swinging her legs lightly and drinking some broth, while chewing on her favorite snack – a dango.

"Yum! Sweet red bean broth goes best with dango!" she said out loud to no one in particular. She took another bit of her dango-stick, "After I eat this, I guess I'll go wait at the tower for the guys who get through this." She bit the last dango off, "this program is made so that the good ones should be arriving there about now." She threw the stick at the tree beside the stall, now showing a full Konoha symbol, made completely from dango-sticks.

"The Konoha mark is complete", she said with a cheerful voice and smiling/grinning to herself.

She was just about to take off, when smoke exploded in front of her and one of the Chunin guards appeared in from it. He was kneeling lightly, "we have an emergency, Anko-Sama!"

Anko frowned, "What is it all of a sudden…?"

"Corpses. Three of them."

Anko kept looking at him, showing him that she wanted more information.

"There is something strange about them… Please come with me", the Chunin asked almost desperately.

"Strange?" Anko asked to herself more than the Chunin.

\- A few minutes later -

Anko and the Chunin arrived at the scene. Two more Chunin guards were there, guarding the bodies. Anko recognized them as Hagane Kotetsu and Kamizuki Izumo, also known as 'the eternal chunin's', not that she cared about that.

The snake mistress noticed what this place was. She immediately gritted her teeth in anger, 'one thing is to kill inside the protective walls of Konoha, but it's a whole other thing to kill here'. What she was referring to was the small shrines beside the bodies, now splattered with blood. This was a holy place… even shinobi had a few of those. Even countries a war didn't desecrate holy sites if they could help. For someone to kill here… they either extremely ignorant, or they really meant business. Anko didn't know what she wanted the most… While it would be bad for someone to really want to fight Konoha, an ignorant enemy could be just as dangerous.

Anko was snapped out from her fuming when one of the Chunin, Kotetsu, spoke up, "From their possessions and ID's… We found out that they are shinobi from Kusagakure who registered for the Chunin Selection Exams. But as you can see…"

Anko looked closer and found out what he was talking about, "Their faces are gone…"

"Yes, their faces are gone as if they were melted off."

Anko's right arm moved up to where her cursed seal was, as reality began to hit her. _'There's no doubt… This jutsu is… his… But why is he at this exam?'_ She turned towards the Chunin who had reported to her at the stall

"Show me the pictures of these Kusa shinobi. It should be in their applications", she said with urgency in her voice. If she was right – and Gods did she hope she wasn't – then there was a predator, much worse than the animals, inside that forest with the Genin.

"Hai", the Chunin said and quickly took out three photographs. She looked at the picture, recognizing the face from the day before at the briefing, _'So he took this girl's face? Then… He must have taken it already back then.'_

She turned towards the Chunin with a very serious face, "This is Ser-". She was interrupted by the chipping of thousands of birds. The four Konoha-shinobi all turned towards the source, in the direction of the Forest of Death, and saw the sky grown dark by the birds flying away. Then they saw what they were fleeing from: an almost solid-looking wall of chakra was flying through the air at incredible speeds, and didn't seem to slow or lose power or density in the progress. They all braced themselves as the thick chakra washed over them, making their hair stand on every inch of their bodies. When they were through it, they looked back to see it keep going towards the village, and in every other direction.

Anko recognized it… A similar wave had washed over a quarter of the village – much smaller than the current one – a few months ago. She was told by the Sandaime that it was that blond kid that had done it… Anko's unsettlement just grew stronger. She turned her face towards the Chunin again, who were all looking at the light blue wall in awe.

"Listen up!" she half-snapped, catching their attentions again, "This is no drill. You three let Sandaime Hokage-Sama know about this right away. And request for a mobilization of at least two ANBU squads to the Forest of Death. Also tell him that Orochimaru of the Densetsu no Sannin has returned! I will go after these guys now. Understood?"

"Hai", they all said unison, and jumped off towards the village and Hokage-tower.

She stood a few seconds, just staring at the bodies while holding her seal, _'He… He's back in Konohagakure… But why…?'_ Anko's eyes widened in realization, _'What is it that snake wants more than anything in the world? Power… And who inside those fences have power? That Uchiha-brat and the Shoton kid… And it was the Shoton kid who used that big chakra wall! I gotta find them. If I find them, then I'll find him!'_ And she took off at her top speed towards the forest.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

The seven Genin, all from various villages throughout the Elemental Nations, were all heading through the thick undergrowth of the forest. Normally they would've taken the treetops, being an advantage point where you could see far in any direction, but this particular section of the forest was half-rotten – more so than any other part of the forest - meaning that they would risk breaking branches. That could result in both injury, and letting the enemy know where they were, none of the choices being good in the situation. Although, none of the other Genin teams would go up against seven other Genin, it wasn't them they were worried about.

They were currently heading through the few kilometers of forest that Naruto had crashed through the day before. Now, many times he had cursed the Kyuubi to hell and back for what it had caused him, but right now he was glad he had it in him. He knew that without its chakra, he would either be dead, or at least extremely wounded.

As they ran, he could see from the corner of his eye, that the Kumo-Kunoichi that had changed his bandages was staring at him, not even trying to hide the fact. He glanced back at his companions, lingering a bit longer on the blonde girl from Kumo. As soon as he did, she looked away. He frowned, _'There is something about her… I just can't put my finger on it.'_

" **She is the same as you,"** the deep sinister voice of the Kyuubi sounded in his mind. He halted his movements for second in surprise; the fox had never spoken to him since the incident in Nami no Kuni. Well, once more during training with Ero-sennin, but never since.

\- Flashback, training with Jiraiya -

 _"I don't really know if I can do it again, Ero-sennin", it came from Naruto._

 _"You just have to try hard enough. All Jinchurriki is able to speak with the Bijuu sealed inside them sooner or later, in one way or another. And you have already spoken to it once", the response came from Jiraiya_

 _"Yeah, but that was when I had been shot – twice -, had almost zero chakra left, and was drowning. I have tried again and again to make contact to it, but it doesn't work! What would you have me do? Throw myself off a cliff!?" Naruto said frustrated. He was silent for a few seconds, and then looked straight at the Gama sennin, "That wasn't a suggestion. If you ever do that to me, you will find out why they called me 'prankster king from hell'. I may not have done any pranks since I graduated from the Academy, but it doesn't mean I don't want to, or have forgotten how to."_

 _Jiraiya shuddered slightly at the thought. Although he hadn't been much in Konoha while Naruto grew up, he had heard the stories… If the boy was able to paint the Hokage Monument in broad daylight without getting notices, and sneaking into the Hyuuga Clan compound, steal all their robes, and dye them bright orange, then he couldn't, or rather wouldn't, imagine what he could do to him._

 _He put the thoughts behind him, as his thoughts returned to the current problem, "Look, you have done it before. The first couple of times are always the hardest. But after the first time it is just the slightest easier, since you know what to do. Just try it again, please."_

 _The whiskered Genin sighed and sat down. The two Konoha shinobi were in the middle of a grassy field, inside a sealed-off area. The reason for that was what Naruto was training in; tapping into the Kyuubi's chakra. After what happened in Nami, and Jiraiya was sure the seal wasn't breaking, he had wanted Naruto to be able to tap into the chakra whenever he wanted to. And it wasn't as if Naruto couldn't see the advantage of it. If he could use it before he was dying, it would be nice._

 _But he still had the problem of actually making contact to the fox. For the last two or three hours he had been sitting in this field, just meditating. And nothing happened. Nothing at all…_

 _He sighed as he thought 'well, twenty-seventh time's the charm'. He closed his eyes and slowed his breath. In, out, in, out, in, out…_

 _He opened his eyes again, ready to lash out at Jiraiya and tell him it still didn't work. But he stopped as soon as he his eyes opened, and was looking down a damp sewer. He had done it! Now all he had to do was to find the beast… should be easy enough._

 _Soon enough he was standing in front of the same iron bars as he had a month or so ago. The eyes of the fox opened up_

 _ **"You're back… Come closer,"**_ _it came from the fox_

 _Naruto frowned, "How stupid do you think I am? Wait, on second thought, I don't want to hear your 'ageless' opinion. Last time I was here you just tried to shred me."_

 _A chuckle came from behind the bars, as the fox in all its might and glory came out from the shadows,_ _ **"So, you're not as stupid as I thought. You even managed to trick chakra from me last time… Impressive. None of your predecessors had the guts to do that"**_

 _The blond human smirked back at the beast standing in front of him, "If I didn't know better, I would say you were complimenting me, Kyuubi."_

 _The grin on the fox's face turned into a scowl right away,_ _ **"Don't press your luck, human! I'm just saying you're that less puny than the rest of your race! Now, why are you here! I am suffering enough being stuck in here, without having to deal with the likes of you!"**_

 _"I want to use your chakra when I call for it", Naruto stated firmly, not beating around the bush._

 _This time the Kyuubi right out laughed at him,_ _ **"And why did you think I would agree to that?"**_

 _"As I said last time; if I die, then you die."_

 _ **"Not good enough."**_

 _Naruto scowled a bit. This was more difficult than he had initially thought… but then again; he was trying to get the chakra of a Bijuu. He pondered of things he could offer the fox, without putting himself at risk. The fox and the human locked eyes, while Naruto thought over the things he could offer; a feat that Kyuubi thought was most impressive – but he would never admit that._

 _Finally Naruto spoke, "What about this: I will grant you access to see what I see, and hear what I hear."_

 _ **"And why would I want that?"**_ _Kyuubi asked sounding disinterested_

 _"You said it yourself; you have nothing to do in here", Naruto motioned to the 'room'._

 _ **"I said no such thing!"**_ _Kyuubi growled_

 _"Pft, you did too. Anyway, if you can see and hear what I do, then you have something to do."_

 _The fox stayed quiet for a minute or so, actually thinking about the offer. Neither Mito nor Kushina had offered anything like this to him. He looked at the human in front of him, locking gazes again. He stayed like this for about three or four minutes, Naruto not wavering once. Finally it growled,_ _ **"Very well. But don't think you will be able to tap into all my chakra! I will give you enough to fight a fight, but nothing more and nothing less!"**_

 _"Deal", it came from Naruto. To be honest, he hadn't expected anything more._

 _He opened his eyes – for real this time – and grinned largely at his teacher. Said teacher was looking expectantly at him._

 _"Did you do it?" the old pervert asked his student. He had a pretty good idea what the answer would be, with the large grin and all, but with Naruto you could never know._

 _"Hai! I did!" the now very happy Naruto said, and brought his hands together in the ram seal. A few seconds later Jiraiya could feel the fox's chakra leak out around him, in a much larger quantity than he had expected. Now the real training could begin!_

\- Flashback End -

He frowned, _'Kyuubi, I didn't give you access to my thoughts! How are you able to do talk to me this way!?'_

" **Relax human,"** the fox growled, **"it's something all Jinchurriki are able to do with their Bijuu – if the Bijuu are willing to do it. I can't hear anything you."** Half-lying since it could. His current host not nearly as knowledgeable as Mito or even Kushina.

Naruto sighed in relief. He really didn't want the fox to hear his thoughts – it would be something it could use against him. He then remembered the statement the fox had come with, _'what do you mean that she is like me?'_

" **She holds Matatabi,"** it said in his mind

'Who?' Naruto asked confused

" **The Nibi. She is the Jinchurriki of the Nibi"**

 _'So that's why she keeps looking at me like that… And it's why I felt something about her,'_ he hummed to himself. Then he realized what the fox had told him, **'Hey, wait a second! You called the Nibi Matatabi! Why did you call it Matatabi? Is that its real name? I knew your name couldn't be Kyuubi! What is your name then?'** Naruto asked, laying two and two together. He didn't get an answer. Just silence. He chuckled evilly to himself, and getting some looks from his companions.

Omoi leaned over to Karui, "Hey Karui, do you think he is ok? He seems a bit… off."

Karui didn't answer, or hit Omoi; she just kept looking at Naruto. Yugito however, _'Nibi?'_

" **My guess is he trying to get that stubborn old fox to talk. The fact he is having a conversation with the old grouch is surprising,"** the female cat demon spoke up.

'So he is Jinchurriki… What do you know about the Kyuubi?'

" **Promise to tell you later when we are all out of this hellhole,"** Matatabi winks as she goes silent.

 _'Fine,'_ Naruto said to the Kyuubi, _'if you don't want to tell me, I guess I will just have to come up with a name for you until you want to tell me… Ruben? Nah, to easy…'_ He mused for himself for a minute or so, finally coming up with a name, _'I got it! From now on I will call you Anthony! At least until you tell me your real name. Anyway, Anthony, how come you're suddenly talking to me…? Anthony? Are you there Anthony?'_

" **For crying out-! Fine! My real name is Kurama! Just don't call me something as vile as Anthony!"** it snarled in his mind, spitting out Naruto's affectionate nickname like poison, more so than he had done with the word 'human'. The blond Konoha Genin snickered to himself at his little victory. **"And to why I'm speaking to you? That's my own business!"**

Naruto didn't answer. They had finally reached the place he had seen Orochimaru first. Naruto sighed in relief: no bodies. The snake Sannin could of course have taken the bodies with him, but there wasn't any blood either.

"What now?" Kouhei asked.

"Well", Naruto said, "Now we look around to see sign of battle. Sasuke may be an ass, but he wouldn't go down without a fight."

Kouhei snorted again, "He was up against a Sannin. He can't have been much of fight".

Naruto glared lightly at the Kiri-nin. What was his problem anyway? He wanted to give him a piece of his mind, but settled with just saying, "Don't underestimate Konoha's shinobi."

The Kiri Genin was about to retort when Haku gave him a sharp elbow in the rips.

"Ok, so now- watch out!" it came from Karui.

Naruto turned around to see what she was talking about; a lot of shuriken and kunai was hailing towards the seven Genin. Naruto quickly stepped in front of his new friends, and quickly went through a couple of seals, " _Doton: Doryuuheki_!" he cried out, and slammed his hands onto the earth.

There was a big rumble, and a medium sized wall made of earth sprouted out of the earth in front of them, effectively defending them against the shinobi weapons thrown against them. When there weren't any more weapons to deflect, he lowered the wall to not hinder their sight around them. Not long after he had done so did a dark chuckle resonate from the shadows of the forest – the same dark chuckle Naruto had heard before.

The Kyuubi Jinchurriki narrowed his eyes into a glare, "Come out, Orochimaru!"

"Ku, ku, ku," it sounded as said person came out from under a tree, "so you figured it out, did you Naruto-kun. I'm surprised that you're able to. But that is to be expected by the Kyuubi Jinchurriki!" The snake sannin smirked, "The 'dead-last' of his year turned out to be something special. To think, I had originally written you off."

Naruto ignored the gasp from the Kiri team, and just kept looking at Orochimaru. He glanced over at Yugito, who were looking back at him with a face that said 'I knew it!' He looked back at Orochimaru, "Yugito-san, don't hesitate to use the Nibi, if you can."

She looked at him with a plane face, "how long have you known?"

"Not long. Kyuubi told me that he sensed Nibi within you, on the way here."

"Oh!" it came from Orochimaru, "What do we have here? A little kitten lost in the woods? Did you know that snakes eat cats?"

"Shut up!" Naruto said and began channeling his tenant's chakra, "Now, tell me where my team is!"

Orochimaru chuckled, "and why would I do that? Sasuke-kun and I had so much fun. I even gave him a little gift. A gift I might also give you… if you're lucky".

"You can keep your gift to yourself!" The blond yelled back. He was beginning to get really pissed at this snake, "If you won't tell me, I will just have to force it out of you!"

"Naruto, don't!" Haku said in worry of her friend from Konoha, but it was too late: Naruto had already taken off. Now all she could do was to help him as much as she could.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Doton: Doryuuheki - Earth Release: Earth-style Wall: The user creates a solid wall of earth as a form of defense. Chakra is either converted to earth within the body or then spat out to form the wall, or the user can manipulate pre-existing earth to form the wall. The earth then instantly rises up and takes form. The barrier itself is also coated with chakra, making its strength incomparable to that of a normal mud wall. Because of the earth's special characteristics, the wall is highly resistant against, for instance, fire and water.


	13. The fox and the snake!

**Chapter 13: The Fox and the Snake**

Hiruzen was sitting quietly in his office doing the bane of his existence – paperwork. There was even more than usual, since the Chunin Exams was being held in Konoha. And it would probably only increase over the next few weeks as the Third Exam approached. With the preparations for the Kazekage to come and attend the exam, plus all the noblemen- and women… he already knew that he would be getting very little sleep. How his predecessor had managed to always be done with the paperwork – and have an active social life on top of that – he would never know. Most fortunate for him, he had gotten letters from both the Mizukage and Raikage, and neither of them would be attending the Finals. Whereas Raikage hadn't seen fit to tell why, the newly instated Mizukage had written that she couldn't leave her village and country when the transition from Yagura's regime. That just meant less work for him to do.

Sarutobi sighed as he signed yet another formality paper and leaned back into his office-chair. He looked tiredly at the mess on his table; multiple stacks of papers, whereas the right, or 'finished', stacks of paper was barely the third the size of the left, or 'yet to be signed', stacks of paper. He groaned slightly and massaged his temples.

"I'm getting too old for this," he mumbled to himself and began signing again, thinking back to the year that he was actually retired, and happily at that. He would have stayed so if there had been a suitable successor. But the only previously one, Jiraiya, became a bit of a mess when Minato had died. And Tsunade had already left the village by then. But if he was lucky, he only needed to endure the job a few more years, and then Naruto could take over. Just maybe…

He shook the thoughts from his head and picked up another paper. It was a request for putting up a stall along the main-road during the finals. He sighed again; why did people think that they could get a spot only weeks before the event? As soon as the date for the finals had been announced, he had been swarmed with requests, and all the available spots had been taken… He was sure that they would spot more than a few un-approved stalls during the final. Just what he needed: More work.

He put the paper in the 'rejected' stack, picked up another paper, and was just about to read it. That's when he felt it; a massive chakra output. And it was coming from a southeastern direction outside the village… in the direction of the Forest of Death. But surely it couldn't come from the forest; it was too far away, and no one in there should be able to produce so much chakra. Only Kage- or Sannin-level shinobi should be able to do it.

An unsettling frown settled on his face as he rose from his seat and walked to the window – the one Jiraiya was so fond of using as a doorway. He looked over the village, trying to spot any and all things that could be related to the chakra outburst. He narrowed his eyes; even if he was able to train so his shinobi abilities wouldn't deteriorate too fast, the same couldn't be said about his bodily functions. He had noticed the last several months that his eyesight had gotten worse, just ever so slightly.

First he thought his eyes were messing him: Near the horizon the air was black with birds, and behind them the air seemed to… shimmer? Yes, it was defiantly shimmering. He walked over to his desk, opened the drawer and put on the glasses he wasn't too fond of using, despite Naruto and Asuma both saying he looked fine in them. He looked out the window, and could still see the shimmering. He quickly concluded that it wasn't just his eyes.

The shimmering air moved fast towards the city, expanding as it did so. Hiruzen's eyes widened, _'Are we under attack? Now of all times?'_ He had to think quickly. While looking at the approaching wall of energy, he had the weirdest feeling that he had seen something like this before. Perhaps during one of the two wars he had participated in?

Then it hit him: It was Naruto who had done this.

 _'But why?'_ Hiruzen thought. _'Why would he do it? From the reports I have gotten from Jiraiya, he should've enough chakra control to NOT make it this big. Why then? Maybe… Maybe he made it this big on purpose? But what could've made him done that?'_

The wave or energy, or chakra Hiruzen now knew it was, slowly dispersed about three quarters of the way to his office. It was not very long after three Chunin arrived in the office by the use of Shunshin no jutsu. He recognized two of them as Hagane Kotetsu and Kamizuki Izumo, or 'The Eternal Chunin' as they had become to be known as. He recognizes the third by name, as he knew that he assigned all three Chunin as guards during the exams. He narrowed his eyes: this couldn't be good.

"Hokage-Sama!" it came from one Kamizuki Izumo.

"Kamizuki-san, report!" Hiruzen ordered.

"Approximately four minutes ago we discovered three corpses at The Shrines. We called Anko-Sama immediately after the discovery. She examined the bodies, and she said…" Izumo glanced over at his partner.

Kotetsu saw his friend trouble and immediately stepped forward. "She said it was the work of Orochimaru, sir. She said that Orochimaru of the Densetsu no Sannin is back in Konoha." Hiruzen's breath hitched as he remembered his old, and for a long time most promising, student. Orochimaru was back. But what was he after?

 _'What can cause him to return here after so long?_ ' Sarutobi worriedly thought, _'what have changed for him to decide it is time?'_ The old Hokage's eyes widened. He swirled around and looked out of the window, in the direction of The Forest of Death. _'Naruto!'_

" **TORA**! **NEKO**!" The Sandaime Hokage ordered entering full 'Hokage-mode', making the three Chunin wince lightly. Two ANBU members appeared in the middle of the office kneeling.

"You called Hokage-Sama," it came from the right ANBU, who was wearing the Neko mask.

"Tora, alarm the ANBU that Orochimaru or the Densetsu no Sannin is back and most probably within the Forest of Death right now! I want seven patrols around The Forest. And you, Neko, you will call Hotaru's and Usagi's teams to meet me at twenty-third entrance of The Forest in ten minutes! We are going in after him!"

"Hai," the two ANBU answered and disappeared via Shunshin.

Hiruzen turned his attention towards the still present Chunin. "You have done good to give me this information. I will require you to keep it a secret for now; we don't need worry the citizens, but alert the shinobi immediately!"

"Hai," they all answered.

"Good then," the Sandaime Hokage said and stormed out the doorway before getting an answer. He needed to get into his fighting gear as fast as possible.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

"Tell me what you have done to Sasuke and Sakura!" Naruto sneered at his opponent, as he tried to slash him yet again time with his blood-red crystal tanto. Orochimaru easily dodged it by leaning unnaturally back, and let the blade fly over him. Naruto didn't give up though. He gathered his chakra in his left hand, making the crystal in his Kessho no Yoroi thicken. He then threw the punch in the direction of Orochimaru's face. For a second or two, it actually seemed like it would hit, but just as it was about to, Orochimaru somehow got out of the way, and jumped a few meters away. Naruto's fist continued right into a tree, making splinters flies in all direction.

"Ku, ku, ku," the crazy snake summoner laughed. "That is it, Naruto-kun, show me your power!"

"Stand still and I will show you my power, bastard!" the crimson-eyed blond yelled, jumping up and came down for a kick to Orochimaru's face. True to his nature, Orochimaru twisted out of the kick and laughed at the Konoha Genin.

"Naruto!" Yugito called. "Calm down! You're falling into his trap!" Naruto glanced over at his… acquaintance. She was right; there was no way he was getting Orochimaru if he kept raging like this. He needed to think clearly. He looked back at the snake, and fought back the bubbling anger that was only growing stronger because of his tenant's chakra. He stopped charging after the Sannin for a second, and took a deep breath to calm himself down. He had trained for this; to use the Kyuubi's chakra, without letting it affect him too much.

The six foreign shinobi was relieved to see that they had finally broken through to their Konoha friend. They had been at it for a few minutes, also trying to help the fight go into the favor of their side. But each time they had been about to cast a jutsu, the Kyuubi Jinchurriki had gotten in the way, and they were forced to abort, less they wanted to hurt the one they were trying to help.

Especially Haku had been affected by the Shoton-user's reaction. She hadn't been able to recognize the blond Konoha-Genin at all: He had been nothing like the calm opponent she had fought in Nami no Kuni. _'He must really care for his friends to get this mad'_ Haku thought. She was brought back to reality as Orochimaru taunted Naruto once again.

"My, my, you're strong. Too bad you can't hit anything. Little Sasuke-kun was much better," the S-rank missing-nin said with a taunting smirk. ' _He definitely has your temper Kushina-Chan.'_

Naruto could feel the anger rising up in him again, and forced it down. _'No matter how hard I try, I simply can't hit him,'_ Naruto thought more than a little irritated, trying to find a way to hit his pale-skinned opponent. _'If Taijutsu doesn't work, I'll use Ninjutsu! That bastard isn't getting away before he tells me where Sakura-chan and Sasuke-teme is!'_

Orochimaru analyzed the blond Genin from where he was standing, _'he seems to have calmed somewhat down. He has that much control over the Kyuubi then.'_

"Well, unlike Sasuke, I'm not really specialized in a Taijutsu style," Naruto said and began forming seals. "But then again, he doesn't really have much Ninjutsu other than that Katon jutsu of his."

Orochimaru just showed his wicked grin. "Oh ho, ho! We're going to do some playing with Ninjutsu now, are we? Very well, Naruto-kun, let's see what you got."

Naruto just narrowed his eyes and finished the last seal. " _Shoton: Kessho Hachidori_!" Crystal began forming on the ground and in the air. Soon enough started to merge, taking shapes of hundreds of small lumps. Soon enough they grew wings, beaks, and legs. Before Orochimaru knew it, Naruto had formed hundreds of small crystal hummingbirds, unlike anything he had seen before. And that was saying a lot.

And then there was the color of the crystal again: It was blood red. It just screamed of anger and hate, making the small hummingbirds seems way more intimidating than they would be without the color. Well, intimidating to anyone not of the Snake Sannin's caliber.

The reason that the snake Sannin was surprised of the color was because that, as far as he knew, Guren was only able to make crystal that was colored either pink, or blue – not red. _'It must be because of him using the Kyuubi's chakra,'_ Orochimaru concluded.

The small group of Genin that was present was all awestruck by the jutsu.

"They're beautiful," it came from Chojuru.

"I know," Karui agreed. "I can't believe how detailed they are! I mean, you can make out what looks like feathers on them!" The rest could only nod dumbstruck.

The moment was over as the crystal birds began fluttering their wings, and thus making a lot of noise. They started moving towards their target – Orochimaru. Said Sannin couldn't help but grin _, 'this is going to be so much fun!'_ He began running away from the fast approaching hummingbirds, transforming his legs into a kind of snake tail, causing his own speed to increase.

The birds began attacking him. Kamikaze style as they flew at him – with their sharp beak first. First he didn't think much of it, but was soon brought on better thoughts, as one of the birds went almost fifteen centimeters into the bark of a tree, before shattering and thus making cuts around the initial impact point. Orochimaru slithered up the trees, twisted himself through branches, and slithered over the pond to get rid of the birds – which despite keeping up with the bombardment toward him, didn't seem to have lost many of their numbers.

Naruto used the cover to get back to the Kumo and Kiri teams. "That should buy us a minute or so," he said as he landed beside Haku and Chojuru. He looked over at Yugito, "Thanks for… calming me."

"No problem," she said with a small smile, "I know how it is." It was true, Naruto realized. She did know how it was, having Bijuu chakra flowing through your body. Even with the gravity of the moment, Naruto couldn't help but feel happy that he had found a person who could relate to what he had been, and was, going through. He didn't know how to respond, so he settled with an acknowledging nod.

"So, any of you assholes have a plan?" Kouhei asked in a carefree voice, while eyeing the Snake Sannin with very bored eyes.

"Hold him off until the ANBU gets here," the only Konoha shinobi present answered.

"Really?" Kouhei asked tauntingly, "That is your great plan? To hold him off?"

"Do you have any better idea, Kouhei?" Naruto sneered back. "He is a Sannin for crying out loud! We have no chance against him, so our only hope is that the ANBU get here fast!"

Kouhei was about to retort when Chojuru stepped in front of him, "Kouhei, stop! Naruto-san is right; we have no other choice." Kouhei didn't answer, just settled with grumbling.

"None of us stand a chance if we go alone," Omoi, "Well maybe Naruto-san and Yugito would but they are both Jinchurriki. Think; if they both went up against him, but lost their cool, then they would – ouch!"

Karui blew on her fist, "what my friend here is trying to say is that none of us stands a chance alone; we need to work together."

"Agreed," it came from Naruto.

 _'Little Guren never did something like this. Maybe Naruto-kun here is perfect for the Shoton Kekkai Genkai',_ Orochimaru thought to himself while dodging the ferocious hummingbirds. _'Maybe it's time I stepped up my game, to see what he truly can do.'_ The snake user was about to retort when a sharp crystal erupted from the earth, nearly impaling him, _'What?'_

He looked back at Naruto, only to find him amongst the Kiri and Kumo shinobi he had arrived with. They were standing with various versions of kunai and short swords, the blue-haired Kiri boy being the only one to have a big, broad sword. He was crouching with his hands slammed on the ground, looking at Orochimaru with those red slit eyes, and a grin that says 'come and get me if you can!'

"Hebi-teme! Where are my teammates?" the crimson-eyed Konoha-Genin growled and began pumping more chakra into the ground and directing it towards the Snake Sannin.

Orochimaru soon figure out what the Genin was up to and began slithering between the trees, hoping to outrun the large quantity of chakra in the ground. Soon enough he was running from crystals erupting from the earth, trying to pierce him in several places. Not enough with the hummingbirds' attacks', but now he also had to keep from getting pierced by killer crystals from the earth. His grin only grew larger and larger; if it continued this way, he would be perfect for that.

"So… Does anyone have any ideas to how we're going to stall him?" Karui said while being awestruck by Naruto's powers. Now, she knew that she was a fairly talented Kunoichi herself, one of the best in her generation, but if she was to go up against Naruto… She would need some serious luck to get through it… And Naruto need to be really unlucky. And the sky needed to fall… Yeah, she didn't stand a chance against him.

"The only way I see it," the Hyoton girl said, catching their attention for a second, "is that we bombard him with jutsu to keep him busy until the Konoha ANBU arrives. It's already been a little while since that, erm… since Naruto send the message."

"Seems kind of risky if you ask me," Kouhei huffed.

Haku sighed at her less than cooperative teammate, "Do you have a better idea Kouhei-kun?"

Once again, Kouhei just settled with glaring at all the people there. Naruto sighed to himself; they were not getting anywhere like this. They needed to buy time – and a lot of it.

"Listen," the Kyuubi Jinchurriki said still crouching in the same position, "we're not going anywhere with arguing like this. If we continue, it will probably be the cause of our death." He paused to let it sink in to the six people behind him, who were all awfully quiet. "Haku-chan is right. This," he said, motioning to an Orochimaru grinning and laughing, "will not hold him off for long. I mean, for crying out loud, he is laughing! He is just playing with us. As soon as he gets tired of it, he can break out of it in a second. When he does that, we need to hit him with everything we got, all at once, and hope that it will entertain him for long enough. Got it?" They all nodded, not that he could see it. But when no one objected, he took it that they agreed.

As the Genin from Kumo, Kiri and Konoha went on to plan how to stall for time. While that happened, Orochimaru was beginning to get tired of the little game he was playing. He jumped up into the trees, having figured out that the crystals wouldn't be able to reach all the way up there, and spun around forming hand seals

" _Fūton: Daitoppa_!"

It was a much smaller version of the jutsu he had used on Team 7 before, much more like the one Naruto had used, but it did the job. Many of the birds were shattered in the strong wind, and the few lucky ones that didn't, were blown far, far away. He then turned towards the group of Genin, "Well? What's next?"

"Now!" Naruto commanded. Immediately the Genin started going through different hand-seals.

Orochimaru frowned: He knew that he can easily take them on, but getting bombarded with seven different jutsu wasn't anything to take lightly either – even if they only were Genin. He knew for a fact that Naruto was Chunin level, and the chances were that the Kumo Jinchurriki also was…

He didn't get to think of it anymore, as the Genin had finished their seals

" _Hyoton: Tsubame Fubuki_!" it came from Haku as the temperature in her immediate vicinity dropped, and several ice swallows formed and charged.

Chojuru settled on the U seal, took a deep breath, and spat out a long water-stream, " _Suiton: Mizurappa_!"

" _Raiton: Raikyuu_!" Karui said with a frown on her face. Soon enough a crackling ball of lightning formed in the edge of her clasped together index-fingers. She pointed at the Konoha Sannin and shot the crackling ball of energy off with a grunt.

Kouhei settled on the dragon-seal smirking, finally able to show what he was capable of, " _Suiton: Jano Kuchi_!" A long stream of water came out of several places of his body – hidden casks with water Orochimaru concluded, and formed into a long torrent of water, the first part of it taking shape of a snake's head.

" _Denko Sekka_!" Omoi said and slammed his hands into the ground, causing visible crackling lightning to run over it, towards Orochimaru.

Yugito barred all her teeth as she blew out a large quantity of fire, " _Katon: Jigoku no Neko_!" The fire soon shaped into the front of a giant cat, well in the size of a large lion, with glowing yellow eyes.

" _Shoton: Hasho Koryu_!" Naruto said and channeled the remaining of Kurama's, chakra into the jutsu. Small crystals began forming in the air, ground, and trees, clumping together, getting bigger and bigger. It didn't take long before a big, crimson-red, crystal dragon charged towards the Snake Sannin, towering over all the other jutsu sent after him.

Orochimaru's eyes widened at the intimidating number of impressive jutsu that was making their way to him. Fast. He quickly went through seals.

 **BOOM!**

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Team 9 was jumping through the canopies when they heard the large explosion. They all stopped on their respective branch, the shockwave even reached them.

"What was that?" Lee asked with worry.

"Neji?" Tenten asked, "Can you see anything."

"Already on it," Neji said with his clan's bloodline limit activated. After several seconds of tense silence he said, "I'm sorry, I can't see the explosion site. And I can't see Uzumaki-san- wait."

Lee and Tenten were deflated for a moment, before their tenseness returned.

Neji frowned, "What are they doing here?"

"What is it, Neji?" Tenten asked with her voice full of hope

"In a part of The Forest to the south-east from here is several full teams of ANBU-members" he answered in is monotone voice.

"A-ANBU?" the weapon-mistress asked, worries returning in full force.

"Hai"

"Why would ANBU be here…?" Lee asked trying to think really hard. _'What would Gai-sensei do?'_ the green-clothed boy asked himself. _'Duh! He would tell me that nothing is more important than to save a friend! Thank you, Gai-sensei!'_

"Never mind, it doesn't matter why they're here," Lee said, catching the attention of his teammates. "If Naruto-kun is in trouble, we need to help him."

Tenten nodded, trying to get rid of the growing knot in her stomach. "You're right Lee… Thanks," she said and smiled lightly at him. Neji didn't say anything. He just continued observing the part of The Forest with all the ANBU-members running around.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Hiruzen and the ANBU teams he had requested were running through the forest at speeds only reachable at high jounin level. To any normal Genin, they would be nothing but blurs. He was currently accompanied by Hotaru's team, while Usagi's team was scouting all around them. Each team had one Hyuuga member and one Inuzuka member. Apart from that, Usagi's team also had an Aburame member. If anyone could find Orochimaru, it was this team.

"Hokage-Sama! I've found him!" it came from the Hyuuga-member running a few meters from the old Hokage.

"Tell me where he is!" Hiruzen commanded

"He is at about two and a half kilometers to the north-northwest. And he is not alone"

"Who is he with?"

"It seems like there is seven additional persons there. Four of them have Genin-level chakra, two of them have Chunin-level chakra, and the last…"

"And the last? What is it?" Hiruzen asked, getting impatient.

"The last has more chakra than Orochimaru. Even more than you, Hokage-Sama."

 _'Naruto!'_ Hiruzen though and took off in the direction of his grandson.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

(Anbu Masks)

Tora – Tiger

Neko – Cat

Hotaru – Firefly

Usagi – Rabbit

Hebi – Snake

U – Hare

Iguru – Eagle

Taka – Hawk

Kuma – Bear

Urufu – Wolf

Inu – Dog

Kitsune - Fox

Shoton: Kessho Hachidori - Crystal Release: Crystal Hummingbirds: Many humming birds are formed from crystal, the birds then home on the target dodging simple jutsu that attempt to stop them. The birds upon reaching their target begin to either violently attack with their beaks like small blades or continue their flight, impaling the opponent before shattering, causing the wound to widen. When witnessing this technique the target is barely visible amongst the swarm.

Fūton: Daitoppa – Wind Release: Great Breakthrough: This is a relatively simple technique that creates a sudden gust of wind, but its scale varies greatly depending on the user. If used by a superior shinobi, it has enough destructive power to knock down a large tree. The wind from the squall can blow away all things in the user's line of sight. A variation of the technique involves a smaller blast of wind which gets ignited with flame.

Hyoton: Tsubame Fubuki – Ice Release: Swallow Snow Storm: The user creates a dozen large ice needles, which takes the shapes of swallows with razor-sharp beaks. These birds/needles can change direction in the air, at the will of the user.

Suiton: Mizurappa – Water Release: Wild Water Wave: Water gushes out from the mouth like a waterfall and washes away the enemy. One can freely control the power of this technique with the amount chakra one releases. Having many variations, this is a basic Suiton technique.

Raiton: Raikyuu – Lightning Release: Lightning Ball: The user draws the static electricity of the area and gathers it in one point – the top of the index fingers are easiest. The electricity takes form of a medium-sized ball of electrical energy, which can be launched at an enemy.

Suiton: Jano Kuchi – Water Release: Snake's Mouth: The user generates a spinning column of water which takes the form of a snake with a gaping jaw. This snake can twist and follow its targets and swallow them. After it has swallowed them, it turns into a river that carries the enemy away.

Denko Sekka – Lightning Flash: The user slams his hand onto the ground and cause lightning to spread from his hand to underneath the opponent, causing the lightning to run through the opponent's body. It can be used on multiple enemies at once, though with lessening effect if used with the same amount of chakra.

Katon: Jigoku no Neko – Fire Release: Inferno Cat: A jutsu only used by Nii Yugito of Kumogakure. She channels minute traces of the Nib's chakra, and mixes it with her own Katon chakra. The result is an inferno cat, which slightly resembles the Ghost Cat herself.

Shoton: Hasho Koryu – Crystal Release: Tearing Crystal Falling Dragon: The user crystallizes a material in the area, and then turns it into a dragon. It can be used as a means to travel or to attack a target. Several dragons can also be made and manipulated at once.


	14. The Snake, The Monkey, and The Betrayed

**Chapter 14: The Snake, the Monkey, and the Betrayed**

Naruto and his friends from Kumo and Kiri shielded their eyes and bodies as their jutsu made contact with their target, creating a small explosion and sending shock-waves throughout the forest. The Konoha Shoton user winced in pain as a piece of rock hit him on the wrist, leaving a shallow cut. _'Damn it,'_ he thought, _'I still haven't recovered completely from last time I met him… I should've left a small amount of Kurama's chakra for healing and for my armor. I still have about half of my own left, but I want to save that for later… if there is any later that is.'_

Yugito coughed a few times, "Did we get him?"

"Don't count on it," Haku said already holding a few senbon, ready to attack.

"You're right about that, Hyoton user," it came in form of a laugh in the still dust-covered crater. "You really think that a bunch of Genin can take down one of the Sannin? One of the heroes of the Second Shinobi World War? Hah! You must be kidding yourself!" A gust of wind blew the last of the dust away, and uncovering Orochimaru with a face that looked half melted.

Naruto's eyes widened, _'Are you fucking kidding me! All those attacks, and he doesn't a scratch!? And what's up with his face? Must be part of the jutsu he uses to conceal his identity… Even so, even if we're way below his level, he shouldn't be able to go completely unharmed from that!'_ The rest of his… alliance seemed to react the same way.

Yugito gulped, _'So this is the power of Konoha's Sannin…'_

"Where are my teammates? Where is Sakura-chan and Sasuke-teme!?" Naruto asked once again, even though he knew he wasn't on the winning side of the fight.

"Sasuke-kun? You shouldn't worry about them. He will either embrace my gift, or he will die. I have people making sure of it," the Snake said with a wicked grin. Orochimaru dusted off his right sleeve, "Well, now that that's over, let's proceed to the main act." He released a burst of Killer Intent way larger than the one he used before, making them all fall to their knees. The only ones able to withstand it just a bit were Yugito and Naruto. His eyes settled on Naruto as he smirked, "It doesn't matter if you want my gift or not; you're going to get it. I think I'm going to have a lot of fun with you and Sasuke-kun, my dear fox."

His fingers settled in a weird seal – one that looked oddly like the one Haku used when she used her Hyoton – and his neck expanded. Before Naruto or any of the other could blink, it was flying fast towards them – or rather, towards Naruto. He could see it come closer and closer, and he knew no matter what The Snake would do to him, it wouldn't be good. Twenty meters. Ten meters. Eight. Seven. Five.

Five shuriken flew out of the cottage flying towards Orochimaru with blinding speed, forcing him to abort the seal.

"OROCHIMARU! DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH ANOTHER SHINOBI OF KONOHA!"

Orochimaru's head snapped up towards a tree in the clearing, trying to see who the angry voice belonged to. When he saw who it was he couldn't help but smile. "It's been a long time… Anko-chan."

Said Tokubetsu Jounin jumped down from the tree, "Uzumaki, Kiri, Kumo, can you move?"

Naruto stood up with his feet feeling like jelly. He looked around to see to his friends. Only Yugito was standing up, and Haku about to. The other was still on the ground. There was no way that they were getting out of there like that. He turned to Anko, "Mitarashi-san, we won't be able to move for a little bit. And… Thank you."

Anko smirked; this gave her the excuse she wanted to go up against Orochimaru. She turned towards said missing-nin, "You are an extremely dangerous S-class wanted criminal. You have harmed Konoha more than enough, and I won't let you touch any more of her children. That's why I'm going to kill you, even if it costs me my life. It's my job as your former subordinate who learned everything from you," she said and pulled five senbon needles from her coat. "Isn't that right, sensei!?"

"You can't," it came mockingly from the Snake Sannin.

Anko narrowed her eyes and drew her hand back, ready to strike with her senbon. But Orochimaru was faster; his abnormally long tongue shot out of his mouth and struck at Anko's location. She jumped in the last second, getting above the newly made crater, with her senbon still in hand. She quickly gathered chakra at her soles, and began running backwards up the trunk of the tree. Orochimaru's tongue quickly followed. She jumped over to another tree, but to no avail; Orochimaru's tongue was faster, and it soon gripped her wrist, making her drop the senbon. It pulled her down fast, but she flipped over just in time, and landed on her feet and knees.

She seemed surprised – but just for a moment. She quickly got back into the game. With her right hand restricted, she pointed her left hand at Orochimaru with the back towards the ground.

" _Sen'eijashu_!" Four snaked emerged from or yellow coat and shot towards Orochimaru. He wasn't able to dodge, as he was currently tied to Anko via his tongue, so he couldn't do a thing as the snakes wrapped around him. "I won't let you get away again!" She pulled back so Orochimaru lost his footing, and threw him through the air, into the trunk behind Anko, and wriggled her hand out of his tongue in the process. Not one to miss an opportunity, she quickly retracted the snakes, laid her hand upon his, and drew a kunai through both their hands. She made eye contact with the Snake Sannin

"I got you. Orochimaru, I'm going to borrow your left hand," she said, and made a seal.

The Snake Sannin's eyed widened, 'That seal is…'

Anko smirked, "That's right. You and I are going to die here." She took a deep breath to prepare herself for her death, " _Ninpo: Sojasosai no Jutsu_." With that said she closed her eyes to let the sweet embrace of revenge and death sweeps her away. Or so she thought.

"Mitarashi-san! Watch out!" the girl from Kiri screamed at her, making Anko's eyes snap open.

Orochimaru's creepy laughter erupted from everywhere and nowhere, "Are you trying to commit suicide, my sweet, dear Anko-chan?" He emerged a few meters behind Anko, drawing her look to him. He ripped of his 'face' revealing the real one. "That's a Kawarimi."

She looked back at what she thought to be Orochimaru in horror, only to see it melt into mud. _'No! It can't be! I was so close!'_ she screamed in her mind.

"You're one of the village's Tokubetsu Jounin, dear Anko-chan, so don't walk around and use Kinjutsu – Kinjutsu that I taught you nonetheless – like they were nothing," the Snake Sannin said while walking closer and closer to Anko.

Naruto tried to take a step, but fell to his knees the second he did. He looked back at his friends, only to see them in same or worse condition than himself. _'Damn it! I can't let her die for me – for us. Even if she is a Shinobi. I won't let that happen!'_

"Don't worry Naruto-kun, you will get your gift in time. Just let me take care of our little problem here first." Naruto just glared at Orochimaru in response – it was all he could do at the moment.

Anko pulled out the kunai she had punched through her hand and threw it at the other snake summoner. He simply caught it with two fingers, inches before his face. "I told you that it's useless," he said as he stopped and settled in half a Ram hand seal. Naruto felt a fast chakra spike from him, which then… upset something on Anko.

Anko froze up, and could do nothing as Orochimaru stepped closer, step by step. It felt like an eternity to Anko, but soon he stood right in front of her – the man she hated most in the world. She glared up at him, "I won't let you touch any Shinobi of Konoha – not even that Emo-brat of an Uchiha!"

Orochimaru laughed again, "We haven't seen each other in so long time, but you're treating me so coldly. And you're too late. Partly anyway. You interrupted me giving Naruto-kun here my gift, but I already gave Sasuke-kun it."

Anko's eyes widened: She was too late. "No," a whisper escaped her as she collapsed on her knees, a hand clasping between her right shoulder and neck.

"That's right," Orochimaru said as he kneeled down to Anko and held up the kunai she threw at him, "but you won't have to worry about that anymore. For you're going to die. Goodbye my dear Anko-chan." Anko closed her eyes and got ready for death once more – just this time around it wasn't so sweet.

Orochimaru drew his hand back and aimed. He moved his hand forward again, and-

"Orochimaru… You have really fallen a long way from grace, haven't you… my old student?"

All the shinobi present turned their heads to see none other than the Shinobi no Kami – The Sandaime Hokage. And he wasn't alone: There was ten ANBU with him – two full squads.

"JIJI," Naruto said strained, though still in his same cheered voice. The six shinobi beside Naruto looked at him with shock and horror across their faces – he had just called one of the most powerful shinobi in all of the elemental nations an old man. If anything like that happened in their respective villages, there would have been severe consequences.

All of the foreign shinobi had immediately got on alert as soon as the Hokage had appeared. While they knew that the old and powerful Hokage was most likely there to help them, he still was the leader of a rivaling village, and they knew nothing about him other than what they had read or been told. Because of that, they were nowhere near prepared for what their new friend had just said.

But the Sandaime seemed to smile lightly just a second as he nodded to Naruto, before he turned his attention towards their enemy, "Orochimaru, drop the kunai."

The Sandaime's old student just chuckled. "And why would I do that? I was just having a little chit-chat with an old disciple of mine. But if you insist." Orochimaru drew his hand back one last time and threw the kunai at the defenseless Anko.

She closed her eyes yet another time, only not to feel the stabbing pain. But maybe death didn't hurt? No, that couldn't be right. She opened her eyes slowly only to see the Hokage himself standing in front of her, the kunai nowhere to be seen.

"You will not take another life today, Orochimaru. I will make sure of that!" the old Hokage sneered to his old student.

The Snake Sannin looked around the clearing, waging his options. First, he was alone. Second, his opponents where many – seven Genin, ten ANBU, one tokubetsu jounin, and a Kage. He needed to get out of there now. He cracked a smile, "Well, not because this hasn't been delightful, but I will have to get going now. Too bad that I didn't get to give my gift to you, Naruto-kun." Faster than any of them could react he had made a seal-less Shunshin, disappearing in a puff of white smoke.

"Hotaru! Take command over Taka and Hato and pursuit Orochimaru! Usagi, you and the remainder of your team will scour this area. Make sure that there aren't any traps left from Orochimaru!" the Sandaime Hokage ordered and turned his attention to Anko.

"Hai," it came from the ANBU before they all disappeared in blurs.

While the Hokage was taking care of Anko, Naruto turned around and checked on his friends.

"Are you all ok?" he asked with concern in his voice. His eyes ran over the six people. None of them seemed to have any major injuries. Good. And they were slowly but surely recovering from Orochimaru's killer intent. Which meant that they could go find Sakura and Sasuke soon enough.

"I think I'm alright," said a slightly exhausted Yugito. She turned to her team, "Are you two managing?"

"Hai, Hai," Karui said.

"I am now, but what if-" Omoi began, but shut up as he saw the looks he was getting from the six other shinobi. "Hai, I'm fine."

"We're alright too. Right?" Haku half said, half asked Naruto and her teammates.

Chojuru stood up and fastened his broad sword to his back. "H-Hai. I'm a little low on chakra, but nothing else."

"It could be discussed what 'fine' is, but I suppose that I could be worse for wear." Kouhei snorts.

Naruto nodded, "Good, then we ne-." Naruto swayed a bit as flashing images came flashing through his mind. It took him a few seconds to place two and two together, remembering it was the shadow clones. He frowned: it hadn't found his teammates. But it had found the Oto Genin team.

"Naruto-kun, are you ok?" Haku asked with concern

"Yeah. It was just one of my clones that dispelled," he replied.

"Did it find your team?" the redheaded Kumo Genin asked.

"No, it didn't." Naruto could see the disappointment in their eyes. "But it did find the Oto Genin's – it saw which way they were headed. And Orochimaru said that he had send people after them…"

"Are you sure they will lead us to them? Or even tell us? For all I know, we could be wa-" Kouhei began complaining, but then stopped for some reason. Naruto thought it odd, until he saw the faces on the other Genin. He turned around to see the old Hokage coming towards him.

"Naruto-kun, are you all right?" Hiruzen asked with concern, not caring that the foreign shinobi saw him like this.

"Yeah, I'm fine Jiji," the blond boy answered. As he looked at his grandfather, he remembered all the times that he had asked about his parents. And the answers he had longed for. Now that he thought about it, they had all been vague, or even avoiding the question that had been asked. And then he remembered the… episode, dream – whatever it was – he had seen while he had been out. The Yondaime Hokage, the red-haired woman, the baby-Naruto…

"Ojisan." Naruto said. Hiruzen was taken back at the change of tone. "When we get to the tower, I need to talk with you."

Hiruzen looked at Naruto with a slight frown of concern. What could have happened in here that he needed to talk about? It couldn't be about Orochimaru, so what. He wasn't going to get the answer here, so he settled with a nod, "All right, my dear boy, I'll see you at the tower. But if all of you are all right, then I need to go. Orochimaru have caused much trouble in Konoha in the short time he has been back…"

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Sakura was sitting beside Sasuke. He was laying on the ground groaning and moaning in pain. Somehow after the fight with that weirdo. _'What was his name again?'_ she asked herself as she wiped sweat off of Sasuke's forehead _. 'Orochimaru… That was what he said his name was… It sounds familiar… C'mon Sakura! You're the brightest of your year! You should be able to remember a name!'_ she berated herself. But no matter how much she tried, she couldn't think of it. She sighed and looked outside.

She and Sasuke were currently in a 'cave'. It wasn't really a cave, as it was under one of the larger trees. Somehow the tree had lifted, or the earth had been corroded away, leaving a well sized hollow beneath it. She didn't really care how it had been created, she was just happy she had found it.

After the fight with Orochimaru she had picked up Sasuke – boy had she been happy she had been training – and looked for a shelter as fast as possible. She had come by multiple places she could have hid, but none of them were defendable by one person. This place was: while it had three entrances – two of them rather small – they were all fairly close to each other, making it easier to watch them all at once. She had put traps outside the larger entrance and one of the smaller. She just hoped it was enough…

Sasuke groaned again, bringing Sakura back from whatever world she was thinking off. She looked at him with concern as his eyes moved rapidly beneath his eyelids. She laid her hand upon his forehead. _'His fever has gotten somewhat back to normal, but his fever… it just won't break. It's as high as ever.'_ She took out her water canteen and poured some new water over the cloth _, 'I wish I could do more for him. For him and for Naruto. I have to become chūnin – that way they will start giving me lessons at the hospital. If I become a medic-nin I will be able to help both Sasuke-kun and Naruto much better.'_

She looked over the 'cave' and the entrances, hoping to see a mess of yellow hair either sit here with her, or entering from being on lookout. _'Naruto… Please be Ok._ ' She was having a lot of mixed feeling about her blond teammate. Most of them being regret. The last few weeks, months even, since they graduated and became a team, the whiskered boy had really grown on her. _'Boy…'_ she mockingly thought to herself, _'I talk like I am way older and more mature than him. In truth, he is probably the most mature of us all…'_

Anyway, as she had learned to know him, her regret had grown, just as her friendship with him had. She suddenly found out that he wasn't such a pain – that he actually was a funny guy, who cared deeply for his friends. She had seen that first-hand the way he was around that girl Tenten…

And one day it had hit her how miserable she must have made his life. And how many times she had actually wished someone dead. A fellow citizen, and now shinobi, of Konoha. It was even worse when it was a real possibility now. First in Nami no Kuni, and now here in the forest.

 _'No,'_ she told herself sternly. _'Naruto is alive. He is probably the strongest Genin in Konoha. No matter how strong that Orochimaru-guy is, Naruto will find a way to survive!'_ She felt herself brighten just the slightest. She knew that it was true, but the nagging feeling in her stomach just wouldn't go away…

In a tree, not long from where Sakura was sitting and nursing Sasuke, were three shadowy figures – two males and a female. The shorter male, but by far the largest too, brushed some branches away, making sure to make as little noise as possible. Now he had a clear lookout to the pink-haired girl.

The bandages across his face stretched as he smile, "I found you. We're going to strike at daybreak, just like Orochimaru-Sama ordered us to do. Our target is strictly Uchiha Sasuke."

"But if the other one gets in the way, we can kill her, right?" the other male asked.

"Please, she won't be a problem. Look at her: She is one of those fan girls that give Kunoichi such a bad name. You can see it by her hair. She probably use more time on it than she does on training," the Kunoichi said mockingly.

"No matter," the shorter male said, "if she gets in the way, kill her. But if not, just stick to our target."

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

"Are we closing in on them?" it came once again from a very impatient Kouhei.

"Yes, Kouhei, my clone was dispelled just up ahead," Naruto said with irritation plain visible in his voice. And for a good reason: the Kiri Genin had been like all through the night. Apparently Kouhei didn't think they were going fast enough. 'Not that it can be helped' Naruto though. And it was true: while they were all shinobi, they had grown up in three different nations, and every nation had trained their shinobi with minor and major differences. The biggest was probably how to travel.

The shinobi in Suna was masters of traveling in hot and sandy area, knowing how to run the longest while not losing too much water. Kumo shinobi were had a major advantage in higher altitude, with them growing up in Kumogakure high in the mountains. Iwa were great mountain travelers, knowing how to avoid the rocky areas that could crumble and cause landslides. Then there was Kiri who were well trained to travel through damp area. And finally Konoha – no shinobi of the same level, from another village, could outrun a Konoha shinobi through the forest. Hell, the students at the Shinobi Academy were trained in navigating the forest before learning how to throw a kunai.

And that Naruto and his companions couldn't go faster: Haku's and Yugito's teams simply wasn't used to the forest. Sure, they were fast, but they weren't Konoha shinobi. Kouhei was clearly better than the rest, and thus was the cause of his complaints. Naruto suspected that he wanted to find Sakura and Sasuke as soon as possible, so he could get away from Naruto. And while Naruto enjoyed his new friends company, Kouhei were a big pain in the ass…

"And what then?" Kouhei asked, causing groans from almost everyone else in the group. Even the quite Chojuru. "What!?" he sneered, "we may soon be where he saw them, but that is hours ago, since we have gone so slowly! They could be miles away! They cou- Watch out!"

They all turned in midair only to see several dozen shinobi tools flying towards them. Naruto thought fast and went through hand seals, " _Kessho: Rokkaku Shuriken: Ranbu_!" The air shimmered around the Konoha Jinchurriki. Then the crystals formed. Less than half a second after he had finished the seals, crystal shuriken was flying towards the shinobi-weapons, annulling them.

Naruto and Haku's and Yugito's teams landed on the next branch, drawing their weapons, and looked for their opponent. They all knew that if it was Orochimaru, or another maniac running the forests, they would be done. They all had some chakra left, but they hadn't really had a chance to rest since Naruto's blackout. And Naruto didn't even fully recover from that. They drew their weapons back as three spots of the forest began to move, beginning to come out from the shadows. When Naruto saw who was standing in front of him a large smile plastered itself on his face.

Team Gai had finally found Uzumaki Naruto.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Sen'eijashu - Hidden Shadow Snake Hands: This technique allows the user to eject snakes from their wrist or sleeve, usually after a punching motion. The snakes are used primarily to attack from a distance and, being snakes, can inflict multiple poisonous wounds on the victim's body or hold them in place. The snakes can also open their mouths to extend Kusanagi-like blades.

This technique can also be classified as a variation of the Kuchiyose no Jutsu. This technique can also produce snakes from different parts of the user's body, as seen when Orochimaru summoned a snake from his mouth to attack the Sandaime Hokage during their battle.

Ninpo: Sojasosai no Jutsu – Ninja Art: Twin Snakes Mutual Death Technique: This forbidden technique is a murder-suicide attack, killing both the user and the target. The user makes a one-handed seal with both their hand and the intended victim's. Two snakes are then summoned from the user's sleeve, biting both their wrists and killing them with deadly venom. When Anko Mitarashi used this technique against Orochimaru, he replaced himself with a clone to avoid harm, leaving Anko unable to finish the technique.

(Anbu Masks)

Hato – Dove

Ondori - Rooster

Raku-N - Raccoon

Tori - Bird

Mausu - Mouse

Raion - Lion

Shinobi no Kami – God of Ninja: A nickname given to the Sandaime Hokage – Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Kessho: Rokkaku Shuriken: Ranbu – Crystal: Hexagonal Shuriken: Wild dance: The user conjures several Hexagonal Shuriken, and shoots them at the target. More powerful than Kessho: Rokkaku Shuriken.

 **My turn…**


	15. Spiraling Maelstrom

**Disclaimer:** We do not own Naruto

 **Co-author and Beta** : Etheral-23

 **Tribute:** To Stormy Rebel, you're not forgotten my friend.

 **Chapter 15: Spiraling Maelstrom**

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

The tense atmosphere was palpable as Team Gai stood ready to attack at the sight of the Kumo and Kiri genin that stood near Tenten's friend. Naruto had relaxed for a microsecond till noticing the postures of his friend and her teammates. Then realizing his company behind him the blond lifted his hands; "Ten-chan it's alright. They helped me." Haku and Yugito were quick to calm their respected teammates upon seeing these three were no threat.

Neji's eyes only narrowed, not leaving his clan's Taijutsu stance. Lee eyed the foreign Genin cautiously as Tenten kept a kunai in each hand while keeping her eyes locked on Naruto, Kumo, and Kiri; "We saw your chakra pulse."

"Orochimaru… he was here"

Both Tenten and Lee's eyes grew the size of dinner plates, "The traitorous Hebi-Sannin is here? Are you truly certain Uzumaki?" Neji questioned, keeping his composure all the while glaring at Kumo.

The whip user of Kiri snorted in irritation; "Your Kage charged into the forest and is in full battle gear with two squads of Anbu. What wild theories can your brain come up with Hyuuga?"

"Kouhei!" Haku and Naruto both shout.

Neji remained in stance keeping his eyes locked on Yugito's team, "A most likely scenario, Kumogakure scheming to stab Konoha in the back like the cowards they are."

"Oh fuck you Hyuuga," Karui growled while Yugito and Omoi both frowned. "That was years ago."

Neji only snarled back; "Not all wounds heal Kumo."

" **ENOUGH**!" Naruto's echoing roar making everyone jump. The blond marched passed Tenten and Lee to stand in front of Neji; "These guys aren't the people who tried to kidnap Hinata."

"…You know?"

A dry expression came from Naruto, "I've hung around Jiji in his office since I was little. So yes I've heard things. Yes, you have every right to be pissed. But at their Raikage, not these guys."

The Hyuuga branch member glared leaning in to the younger teen; "Kumogakure is a den of vipers who will do every dishonor deed to gain power."

"We're Shinobi, playing fair isn't in our handbook."

As true as those words were, Neji wouldn't relent his anger. Not when Kumo, his uncle, and his clan elders were responsible for his father's death. No amount of words could ever calm the fury in Neji's heart.

Naruto continued; "And right now I don't have time to waste with my team out in the forest and Hebi-Teme's goons gunning for them."

"And a dead-last like you believes you can beat them?" Neji countered, "Your fate has-" The Hyuuga stopped as he and the rest felt the area around them got colder. Everyone's breath was visible as Naruto and Neji shifted their gaze to Haku.

Kouhei and Chojuru backed away from their female teammate as frost emanated from her body. The grass under her feet and around her started to ice over. Her face was blank save only her eyes than shined with a cold rage. "Insult Naruto-kun again Hyuuga and you won't like the consequences."

Everyone felt a shiver crawl down their respected spines, Neji included till Naruto quickly spoke up, "It's alright Haku-chan. Neji's the kind of people I love proving them wrong," Trying to calm his Kiri friend down before she beats the holy crap out of Tenten's teammate. The two genin resume glaring at each other; "Call me whatever you want, I don't care. What I DO care about is my team, even if Sasuke is an asshole like you. Help if you want, or get lost"

The Hyuuga said nothing but looked to his two teammates. Naturally Tenten gave a look that she was staying which Lee mimicked. Finally Neji relented; "Very well Uzumaki. I wash my hands with these Kumo."

A round of sighs went through everyone as Yugito got back on task; "Which way to your clone spot those Oto Naruto?"

"Not far," the blond Uzumaki looks back to Neji, "How far can you see with your Byakugan?"

Quiet for a minute the Hyuuga finally spoke; "You want me to spot the Otogakure genin?"

"If you're helping, yes."

"…Very well."

Tenten and Yugito both look genuinely surprised while Lee doing a 'Nice Guy' pose. "I will help as well Naruto-Kun. We will protect our comrades, and I will keep safe my dear Nobara-Hime!"

'… _I am so glad I straightened up,_ ' Naruto dryly mused as Kurama snorted.

* * *

XxX ~ Sakura ~ XxX

* * *

 _She couldn't move, she couldn't breathe… Her scream stuck in her throat as a large snake was slowly constricting her body. Its cold slit yellow eyes staring into her jade; "You won't stop me girl. Sasuke and Naruto will be MINE" its mouth opened revealing the Kusa woman's face smiling before lunging out with serpent-like fangs._

Sakura's woke with a start, biting back a scream as sweat dripped from her face. Her breathing was erratic as fear shined in her jade orbs. The rosette held a hand to her chest; ' _Just a dream. Just a dream…_ ' Taking slow deep breaths, Sakura gazed to Sasuke who was still unconscious. The Uchiha was still showing signs of pain as he fidgeted and grunted in discomfort. ' _I still don't know what that woman did to him. I skimmed through some of Naruto's Fūinjutsu books, but I never saw anything like that._ ' Images of the blond Uzumaki flashed in her mind along with that 'Orochimaru' person's words.

" _I have an appointment with a certain blond shinobi._ "

Quickly the rosette shook away any negative thoughts; ' _Naruto won't let that monster near him. He'll be fine,_ ' despite her mental reassurance her worry still knotted in her stomach. Ever since Nami she had considered the blond more than a teammate, but also a real friend. A tiny part of her still couldn't believe it was Naruto of all people who had been helping her these past few months, yet one thought kept ringing back in her mind.

Why?

Why was Naruto always so kind to her? Thinking on their academy days, she was not proud of herself remembering all those times she was so mean to the blond. Yet it never swayed him from greeting her with a smile, which only added to her shame. ' _I bet even if I apologized for everything he'd just wave it off._ ' He was really that forgiving and kindhearted, ' _I may not understand how much I mean to you, or why. But I'll make up for all the mean things I've ever done, I promise._ '

While Sakura pulled out her black gloves from her pouch and put her hair into a ponytail with a hair tie. She was unaware of the looming threat hiding in the shadows. "Be ready," Dosu whispered as he narrowed his lone visible eye.

Zaku and Kin grinned murderously back to their leader. "One little fangirl playing Kunoichi, it will be fun making her scream," Kin almost purred licking her lips.

"Long as I get to kill the Uchiha, I don't really care," Zaku retorted with a snort.

Dosu just rolled his unbandaged eye. The lead Oto Genin crouched as he stared at their target. "On my mark" He softly called.

Zaku and Kin grinned, the former channeled chakra through his air tubes while the latter pulled out three senbon between her fingers.

The pinkette had her back turned to them, now was their chance...

"Go!"

They leapt through the trees, their movements so fast and silent there was no way she would become aware of their presence before it was too late. Kin took the lead, eager to draw the Konoha's blood. She threw the senbon straight to the pinkette's head.

The senbon pierced her neck and her body seized, making Kin smiled viciously. She reared her arm back to deliver a devastating blow the little girl's neck and end her life.

Her movement stopped as something tugged her arm. Eyes widening in surprise, she saw the pinkette standing right next to her, holding her arm as the one she had previously attacked vanished before her eyes.

Too late she realized it had been a genjutsu as the Konoha shinobi used her momentum against her, throwing her over her shoulder and right into a tree. Her body collided against the bark, splintering it, the air left her lungs as spit flew out of her mouth.

Both Zaku and Dosu shared a stun expression as Sakura took up her Taijutsu stance. "Always put traps in your traps. Why are you here!?"

Quickly Zaku lifted both his hands firing a concentrated blast of wind at the rosette who quickly dodged. "You didn't answer my question!" She charged both boys, gloved fists clenched.

Then there was ringing. Oh gods the ringing. It pierced into her ears like a drill. She screamed, holding her ears as the pain forced to drop to her knees as she lost her balance. The ringing made the whole world become blurry as she felt herself slipping away.

Then, the ringing stopped, only for a hand to grab the back of her head and slam it over the ground. The blow to her forehead stunned her enough to dull the pain, it was a cruel mercy.

"You actually think we would tell you?" The bandaged Sound Nin said with exasperation. "You're new to this job aren't you?"

She groaned; forcing herself to remained focus even with the swift but strong beating she had just received. "Not so long that I have to used bandages to hide all the times I screwed up..."

Dosu growled, and threw her to the ground once again. "Hold her" He ordered Zaku, who all too eagerly twisted her arm into a painful hold.

Even with pounding in her head and the pain in her arm, Sakura couldn't help but think; _'Smart mouthing the enemy, yep, been spending too much time with Naruto'_

As Dosu gazed toward the entrance under the tree Zaku sneered, "Your blond boyfriend won't be here to save you. Orochimaru-sama likely already got him." Sakura only spits at him which Zaku angrily spat back.

"Naruto wouldn't let that bastard close to him," the rosette growled as Dosu looked at her blankly. "He'll come. And kick your asses if I don't first!" Zaku's free hand grabbed her by the throat.

"You're a cocky little brat aren't you," Dosu muttered, "A lot of confidence for a dead-last." The rosette only growled; "To bad you didn't get to hear the rest of that little dossier on blondie back in class. Wonder how you would feel about learning what he really is." Dosu only chuckled seeing Sakura's eyes shine with confusion; "So he never told you or Uchiha eh?"

"No surprise Dosu. You saw how Uzumaki acted. Nearly got told to the whole class he is a monster," Zaku smirked.

"What are you talking about?" Their words weren't making any sense to Sakura.

The face bandaged ninja chuckled as he leaned closer. "Tell me, have you ever heard the word 'Jinchuuriki'?"

"...It's above my pay-grade" Were the words she replied with.

Of course she had heard that word. In the academy they didn't go into the finer detail of it, but Jinchuuriki were so ingrained the history of the ninja wars it was impossible to discuss the subject without mentioning them.

Living weapons. Deterrents. The villages' trump cards... Holders of the Tailed Beasts.

Sakura couldn't imagine a fate like that, to seal such monsters inside a person, to be treated as another weapon of the village, while a very shinobi thing to do, it seemed just so... cruel.

Konoha was very tight lipped about the information regarding their Jinchuurikis. The most that ever got out was as far as 'we have 'em', but their identities were a secret only the Jonin and select chunin were privy to.

...A cold feeling dropped on her stomach. Where were they going with this?

"Those freaks have a lot in common. Their government treats them as weapons, even more than the regular shinobi. And their own people?" Dosu snorted. "To show how grateful they are to Jinchuuriki for doing they duty they shun them. Treat them as pariahs, pests they'd rather just disappear"

No... No, no, no, no. That couldn't be true.

Sakura wasn't among the top of her class for nothing, if the dots were there she would connect them.

 _'Stay away from him'_ all the adults would say. _'That boy is nothing but trouble'_ , even her own family acted so nervous about him.

Lots of people acted that way with him, the way they looked at him with so much... anger and hate in their eyes.

The date of the Kyuubi attack, his birthday...

"Ohohoho" Dosu took delight in the shocked expression her face was making. "You've figured it out haven't you?"

Naruto... was Konohagakure no Sato's Jinchuuriki.

Her mind played back the past events. From sneering of a few academy teachers, how _she_ and her classmates all treated Naruto... And even before the academy... A few stray tears fled from her eyes before practically roaring as she fiercely fought against Zaku's hold on her.

"Ah, figured out you treated him like a monster like everyone else eh girlie?" Dosu only smirked seeing the despair in the rosette's anguished/rage filled eyes as she struggled.

"N-No..." She told herself. "I-I never..."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever" Zaku snapped at her. "We don't care what you feel, we're pretty much just doing this for shits and giggles" And orders, but she didn't need to know that.

The pinkette wasn't hearing him; she was lost in her own world as she tried to process the truth. She had just... gone with the flow, so to say. Everyone always treated him like that; it was just so ingrained ever since she was little. And yet... And yet she never stopped to consider how much it all must hurt him so much. Finding out about his status as Jinchuuriki only made things worse.

To mock and make fun of the orphan boy... Gods, looking back at it she realized how horrible it all was. She treated him like everyone else; he must have thought she saw him like the villagers did, a monster...

Blood and spit came from Sakura's mouth from a hard punch from Dosu; "If we decide to let you live, you can soul search as much as you like later. For now we have a job to do." The bandaged Genin looks back to the unconscious Uchiha as he pulls out a kunai.

 _'Naruto...'_ No. Now was not the time to feel berate herself. Sasuke, her teammate needed her. She would not cry she would not lay down and do nothing. She struggled against Zaku's hold, but the Sound ninja did not let her move, she was too weak at the moment to struggle.

"You stay right here pinky" He sadistically said with a smile on his face.

Kin walked up to them, having recovered from the blow she received when she hit that tree. She held her side as she glared with murder at the Konoha shinobi. "You little bitch..."

"You can kill her later. Make sure nobody interrupts" Dosu ordered as he moved over the Uchiha's vulnerable frame.

"Sasuke..." Sakura whispered in desperation.

* * *

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

* * *

 _Sasuke knew this was a dream… Yet his heart did not stop racing as he saw his younger self crying over his parent's lifeless bodies. "If I was stronger, could I have stopped him!?" his younger self whimpers looking down at his mother and father as he wept._

 _Clinching his fists, the older Sasuke both seethed and shuddered as more corpses of his kinsmen appeared around his younger counterpart. "Yet we did nothing." Sasuke gasped as his younger self smiled sinisterly as another, older and malicious voice overlapped with his younger self. "Our clan died because we were weak. If we had power, we could have stopped it. If we had more power, we could kill Itachi!" Younger Sasuke's eyes turned yellow with serpent-like slit eyes, "Power to crush all those who stand before us!"_

* * *

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

* * *

A deafening roar above shot all their heads upwards as a large crystal dragon descended for the Oto Genin. "SHIT!" All three collectively yell as they jump out of the way. The massive dragon shattered hitting the ground, Dosu skidded back looking in every direction; "UZUMAKI! Where is he?!"

Kin landed safely on a branch, also scanning the area along with Zaku who still held Sakura tightly in his grasp. Dosu's danger senses screamed as the bandaged Genin sharply turned only to have a blue sphere of pure chakra slammed into his chest like a drill.

" _RASENGAN_!"

' _H-he finally learned it,_ ' Sakura looked in awe remembering the months Naruto spent learning that jutsu.

Dosu roared in pain as he was sent flying like a spinning wind wheel till slamming into one of the massive trees. His body a mangled mess and motionless as Zaku snarled lifting his free hand; "I'll kill you myself Uzu-"

As chakra built up in his air-tube a firm hand grabbed his wrist. Before he could react another hand struck his elbow with such force everyone heard the bones break. Sakura found herself free as her captor screamed in pain. Leaping over to Naruto, Sakura gasped seeing Haku partially within one of her ice mirrors behind Zaku.

The Kiri kunoichi shunshined as the enraged Oto Nin used his one good arm to send a devastating blast of wind that shattered the ice mirror. Zaku's body soon froze up; behind him Haku stood having placed a senbon on the Oto Nin's neck. He fell to the ground like a statue. The brunette teen said nothing before turning her eyes to Kin.

The Oto Kunoichi readied herself only to find herself surround by Kumo, Kiri, and another Konoha team ready to strike her down. "Give me a reason," Karui smirked with her sword drawn beside Omoi who lazily rolled his lollipop in his mouth. Yugito's cat-like eyes glared as her fingernails extended as sharp as a kunai pointed at Kin.

Kouhei and Chojuru had their respected weapons drawn while Lee and Neji had their taijutsu stances at the ready. Tenten had a kunai in each hand as she scowled; "Not harming my friend's team on my watch."

Naruto's cerulean eyes were wide as he looked at the rosette's bruised face, blood dripped from the edge of her mouth. Her eyes couldn't, or rather wouldn't meet his as she stared at the ground. "I'm okay," she whispered softly.

"You don't look okay" Naruto said gently.

She let out a humorless laugh. "Part of the job isn't it?"

Naruto lifted his gaze to glare at the remaining Sound ninja standing. The group prowled like a predator stalking over a wounded prey, the kunoichi's gaze darted frantically trying to find for an opening, anything that would allow her to slip way. In a desperate move she called forth the strongest genjutsu could muster at the moment, a distortion of sound vibrating through the air that made their eardrums hurt, their vision become blurry and their footing to become unbalanced.

It was only for a moment before the most adept of their group at dispelling illusions managed to cancel it, but Kin had already moved to gather her teammates, having removed the senbon in Zaku's neck, trying to get him on his feet while a clone helped Dosu. The Sound Trio soon formed up as they slowly backed away.

The gauntlet wielding glared with utmost fury at the enemy before him. "You will pay for this!"

Kouhei shook his head as the genjutsu passed. "Really? Cause it seems to me we just kicked your asses" The teen was already charging chakra through his weapon, a few crackling arcs of electricity could be seen.

"Give it up" Naruto said resolute. "You're done for"

Whatever response the trio had, or whatever was their group going to do next, they were all interrupted by sensing a sudden rise of sickening chakra.

Neji, being the first one to see it thanks to his wide range of vision, turned around with an incredulous gaze that unconscious form of the Uchiha... that was now rising as the chakra kept raising. "What is this..?"

Dosu's one eye along with Kin's and Zaku's stared solely at the Uchiha; _'The curse mark is activating... This is bad,'_ the injured bandage Genin glanced to his team who looked back. Without saying a word, the trio agreed to escape, departing via shunshin they went unnoticed.

"S-Sasuke?" Sakura shuddered as visible purple chakra erupts around the Uchiha who begins to sit up.

Yugito heard Matatabi hiss in her mind, sensing the chakra like she was doing. And not liking one ounce of it radiating off Sasuke if her words were any indication. **"That chakra feels so... wrong,"** the feline Bijuu growled out.

 _'Not even your chakra feels like that.'_

 **"No chakra should feel like that, kitten."**

As Sasuke fully stands, his Sharingan glows bright as strange black marks slowly rise up on the side of his face. "...Naruto," There voice maliciousness in his tone.

 _'Something's wrong, REALLY wrong here.'_ The blond felt sick just being close to that chakra coming off his teammate. _'I mean your chakra feels like pure hate furball. But what the hell is this?!'_

Kurama only snorted; **"You figure it out yourself brat."**

"Sasuke... are you feeling okay?" The young Uzumaki tentatively asked, slowly taking one careful step forward.

The Uchiha laughed, yes LAUGHED, out loud. Throwing his head back and rolling his neck before finally setting his gaze upon his fellow teammate with an unnerving grin. "Oh I'm better than okay. I'm feeling fantastic~"

"...You're not okay" Naruto flatly retorted, more than a little creeped out by this development.

Karui looked nervously at the oddly behaving Uchiha. "You know him better than I do, but I can tell your teammate is acting way out of character"

"That chakra" Neji muttered as his gaze narrowed at a specific point on Sasuke's neck. "It's foreign, not his own. And it's infecting him like a virus, spreading through his body. This must be the reason to his... altered behavior"

Sasuke's grin widened as the marks continued to spread throughout his body.

"...Gee, whatever gave you that idea?" Tenten droned as she pulled out various scrolls from her pouches, preparing herself for the worst.

"Let's all act calmly" Haku said in a soft peacekeeping tone. "We don't know if he means us any harm"

"Naruto" The Uchiha growled out. "Fight me"

Kouhei deadpanned; "Well so much for that..."

"The hell?" The blonde in question muttered. "Sasuke, you're NOT well. Just... Just calm down!"

His words were of no use, the Uchiha took one menacing step towards him, oozing killing intent, godsdamned killing intent at his own teammate, in waves. "I need to fight you... I _**need**_ to fight you" He repeated himself like in a mad trance.

"Why?!"

"Because you're strong... So if I defeat you then that means I'm on the right path"

"...I know this is hardly an ideal situation, but did you just compliment me?"

 _'Seriously?'_ Was everyone's thought as they sweatdropped.

"Show me why you're not some clan-less dead last loser anymore," Sasuke took another step forward as both Kiri and Kumo looked at each other in confusion before the Uchiha dashed with blinding speeds.

 _'He's faster,'_ Naruto pushed Sakura out the way before just barely blocking a high roundhouse aimed for his head with his forearm. The blond hissed, _'and he's stronger...If I didn't have my crystal armor up my arm would have been broken.'_ And even with his armor, it still hurt! "Snap out of it Sasuke! I'm not fighting you like this!"

His teammate wasn't listening, and quickly delivered a reverse spin kick at Naruto straight on the chest, sending him flying back and hitting his back against a tree before falling the ground. "I don't think your buddy is a listening mood Uzumaki!" Kouhei yelled out.

Haku and Tenten were about to jump and help him, if not for the Jinchuuriki suddenly shouting; "Stay back!" He said in between ragged breaths. "He'll go after you too!" The blond hissed, holding his chest as he slowly got up. Even through his shirt he felt the cracks in his armor. "I'm not fighting you teme!"

Sasuke grin slowly turned to a sneer; "Then I'll kill you."

"Listen to yourself damn it! This is not you! Whatever Hebi-Teme did to you is making act crazy!"

"Doesn't matter," the Uchiha seethed; "I feel more alive than I ever been. But I need more power, much more if I want to kill Itachi!"

Now Naruto's temper was getting the best of him; "It won't bring your family back! Your dad, aunt Mikoto, none of them will come back by killing your brother!"

 _'Stop it,'_ Sakura watched on as dread was welling up in heart. She shook her head as her teammate fighting more viciously than ever. _'Stop it...'_ Her jade eyes went wide as her body had reacted upon seeing Sasuke going into familiar hand seals. "STOP IT!"

Naruto and Sasuke both stopped as Sakura stood in front of her teammates. "Look at yourself Sasuke! You're acting insane, wanting to kill your teammate!" She fought through the tears. "Enough! You can't even see how much this is affecting you!"

"Stay out this" He seethed in anger.

Once she would have been taken aback by him addressing her in such a way. Now though? She was running on adrenaline after having the crap kicked out of her, she couldn't care any less. "Oh I'm sure your parents would be really proud, seeing you act against your own comrades like this!"

He took a menacing step towards her. "You dare…!"

"Sakura don't push him!" Naruto begged her.

"Come on! Try to kill me too!" She shouted, making the others inwardly worry that Sasuke's wasn't the only one going insane. Sakura taunting him like this was a terrible idea, at this rate he was going to unleash all that mounting aggression on her.

And he would have, had she not said the following words.

"Do it! Be just like your brother!"

Sasuke's body froze mid-step. His eyes widening in horrifying realization, the marks halted in their advance as his heart seemed to stop for a second. What... What was wrong with him? That sheer impulse to fight, that drive to kill, that... that rage guiding him. Where did it all come from?

He took long breaths, trying to calm down the chaotic influx of emotions and erratic chakra coursing through his body, the marks began retreating to the source on his neck. He... He attacked Naruto with no provocation, threatened to kill him and then Sakura...

"I... I..."

His words died on his mouth when the end of a lightning shrouded whip struck him right on the chest. "HRRRK!" His body convulsed as arcs of electricity coursed over his form, before finally falling flat on his face, smoke coming out of his unmoving form.

The other ninja looked at the once more fallen Uchiha, and then at Kouhei who was folding his whip.

Naruto summed it up best. "Dude what the hell?! He was calming down!"

"Better safe than sorry"

Naruto just heaved a long sigh along with everyone else as the blond walked over to his once again unconscious teammate. Then to Sakura; "Get some rope, we're making camp here for the night." The rosette nodded as Yugito and Haku came over, "Thank you for helping."

The Hyoton user just smiled; "Of course, we'll stick around just in case."

"Better going together than separated," the Nibi Jinchuuriki wisely states. "Besides, we already have our scrolls for the exam." Haku nodded the same showing her own for her team.

Helping Sakura secure Sasuke, Tenten looked up; "So do we."

Neji crossed his arms as he glared at the Kumo Nin who made their own little camp. "The situation has calmed, we no longer need to intervene. We should get going Tenten"

The weapon mistress looked at him in disappointment. "We're staying, Neji. Our fellow Konoha comrades need the help. Right Lee?"

"It is most unyouthful to just leave then on their own considering the circumstances!" The second coming of the green beast announced passionately.

"Besides, you really want the three us to head on alone with the damn Snake Sannin out there?" The Hyuuga couldn't reply to that. "Thought so, we're staying together until this part of the exam is over"

Casting one last glare at the genin from Kumo, Neji decided to let it go for the moment; "Fine"

After securing the Uchiha, Sakura gazed around to everyone setting up for camp as well as traps before noticing Naruto was in front of her. He was looking over her bruises as the rosette waved it off; "I'll live Naruto," she said quietly.

"Least let Haku-Chan or Yugito look you over, they have medical supplies. I would have used that seal I made for us but it got damaged by that damn snake bastard." He noticed how quiet his teammate was being; "Sakura-chan? What's wrong?"

The rosette froze before slowly turning away till Naruto gently turned her back. She still hasn't looked him in the eyes; "What's. Wrong?"

Sakura bit her lip before sighing; "I know..." She muttered getting a confused look from the blond; "I know you're the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki..."

Time froze as everyone sharply turned hearing her words. Tenten dropped whatever she was holding as she looked wide-eyed along with Lee and Neji.

For Naruto, the world became unnaturally quiet; he couldn't hear the rustle of leaves nor any of the myriad of noises that haunted the Forest of Death constantly. He swore he could only hear his own breathing and heartbeat; he stared at Sakura who continued to avoid his gaze.

"Y-You..." He felt terrified, he felt like running away. He never... never wanted any of his friends to know, even if he knew how pointless it was. "How did you know?"

"The Sound nin told me. And... Well, you just confirmed it"

Tenten's eyes darted between the two of them, mostly lingering on Naruto. Lee found himself at a loss of words for once, while Neji's showed an uncharacteristic amount of unnerved surprise.

Naruto's gaze fell to the ground, his fists clenched and unclenched as he tried to gather his thoughts, thinking on what to say. But his damn mind was empty; he just didn't know what to do...

Thankfully, Sakura once more knew what to say

"I want you to know this... doesn't change anything" She assured him. "You're still my teammate and my friend"

The blond lifted his head seeing Sakura teared filled jade gazing into his cerulean. Not even acknowledging the tears trickling down his own. Before he knew it she had wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly; "I accept you. And I'm so sorry... For how I acted during the academy. Even before...I was..."

Naruto had slowly returned the hug; "Thank you," his voice nearly a whisper fighting his tears. "Thank you…"

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 **Till next time!**


	16. Lost Fragments

**Disclaimer:** We do no own Naruto

 **Co-Author & Beta**: Etheral-23

 **To Stormy Rebel** : You are remembered my friend.

 **Chapter 16: Lost Fragment**

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Anko painfully hissed as she sat on an exam table in the forest tower with her trench coat folded on her lap. After several grumpy protests, an order from the Sandaime made the Tokubetsu Jonin begrudgingly took a seat for the doctors. This was also ensured with Hiruzen, back in his Hokage robes and hat keeping watch.

"I'm fine Hokage-Sama, just had a bad reaction with this stupid thing," the kunoichi muttered pointing to her shoulder.

Hiruzen's gaze was as dry as a desert; "You're fine when the doctor informs me you are, otherwise you remain here. Am I understood?"

"…Hai, Hokage-Sama."

Nodding, the Sandaime leaves the room as two ANBU appeared kneeling; "Report Iguru."

The ANBU in the eagle mask lifts his head; "We have searched half of the forest but no signs of Orochimaru."

"Continue searching every inch of the forest. Though it's he likely has left the area by this point, I doubt he has vanished from Konoha. Inform Commander Fox I want round the clock patrols throughout the village."

"HAI!" Both ANBU vanished via shunshin.

The Sandaime sighed as he tiredly rubbed the bridge of his nose. "What are you planning..?"

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"I can't believe you're the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki" Tenten exclaimed, sitting by their makeshift camp as they finally had set it all up. "I mean… It makes so much sense now!" The glares, the way the adults talked about him, how people were always so nervous around him.

Now the truth was unveiled and everything fell into place. Naruto had been so overjoyed when Sakura told him she didn't care he was a Jinchuuriki, that was a fear that had not left him ever since her first learnt the truth himself. That if other people knew they would just… treat him like the adults always did. And for these people whom he came to call friends… He just wouldn't be able to handle if they too began to hate him as well.

"You… You're not mad?" He hesitantly asked.

"I'm mad you never told me before!" The bun haired girl snapped, but there wasn't true anger in her voice, none of the spite he was familiar with. "What? You think I'd care about something like that? Please don't be an idiot, you're always gonna be the same dum-dum to me"

He wouldn't cry. Ninja didn't show their tears. He did everything in his power not to cry at how happy he felt. So instead he lowered his gaze and thanked her; "You have no idea what that means to me"

Tenten smiled widely; "Now stop moping you big baby, you've got no reason to feel down"

"Yosh!" Lee agreed with a pump of his fist; "Naruto-kun's role in the village is invaluable, it must be no easy task to bear a creature such as the Nine Tails inside of you!"

"Yours is a heavy burden, Uzumaki" Even Neji seemed to acknowledging him, in his own way at least. "It seems you too understand the weight of a role imposed to you when you had no choice"

Sakura smiled sweetly, she could see how all of this was making Naruto feel happier than he had felt in a long while. The softness of his gaze, the relief of a weight being lifted off his shoulders, Naruto had friends he could count on, people who would support him no matter what, and he was starting to see it too.

"I'm sure if Sasuke," She gestured to the bound boy lying on the ground next to her; "was awake he'd say something like; ' _Dobe, worrying about dumb things like that_ '" She said in a perfect imitation of his voice.

Like, seriously, it was absolutely Sasuke's voice coming out of her mouth. It freaked Naruto out to say the least, as he stared at her with wide startled eyes. "What was that?"

"Oh, small genjutsu to copy sounds, I used Sasuke's voice. What do you think?" She grinned cheekily at him.

"Creepy. PLEASE don't do it again"

Sakura couldn't help it, she laughed. It was infectious enough that soon Naruto began laughing as well, letting out all the joy and relief he felt. Tenten soon joined in with Lee, only Neji remained stoic in the face of such mirth, letting his eyes roll.

Over the other side of the clearing in their own camps, the Kumo and Kiri Nins watched the scene unfold. Yugito didn't know what it must have been, growing up scorned by your own village. Before Bee proved himself to be a hero to Kumogakure, the role of Jinchuuriki was held with as much contempt in Kumo as it was in Konoha, or so she heard from her elders. She herself grew up not with glares, but with gazes of respect from her fellow ninja. Of course, that didn't mean there weren't expectations. The higher ups expected her to one day master her Biju's power like Bee.

But Konoha? Their attitude regarding their Jinchuuriki was odd. Naruto from what she heard only found out not too long ago, and he didn't seem to be under any training to master the Kyuubi's chakra, almost like the Leaf wasn't interested in what should be one their greatest assets.

Historically, Konoha always had a very pro-peace attitude. Oh that didn't mean they didn't get their hands dirty, they were ninjas too after all, but seldom had any conflict been started by them, any military action on their part had been retaliatory or pre-emptive whenever another village was plotting against them. They didn't seem very interested in taking down the other villages.

They were considered the hippies of the Elemental Nations for a reason. But that didn't mean one should take them lightly, the Land of the Sky found that out the hard way in the Second War.

Hmm… she hoped she wouldn't have to fight him when the next war came. It'd be expected of her as a Jinchuuriki. But honestly? She kind of liked these people. So for now she wouldn't worry about it.

Haku smiled happily at Naruto, knowing he'd be alright. Having taken a liking to them as he got to know them, Chojuro shared in her happiness at seeing Naruto's comrades accept him. Kiri didn't have a good history with their Jinchuuriki ever since Yagura.

Kouhei for his part castes an impassive gaze at the Konoha ninja, he didn't have anything against them, nor was he fond of them like Haku was. Good for him regardless, gods know he knew how hard it was to be discriminated for something you had no control over…

He shook his head, trying to get rid of those thoughts, his straight coffee-colored locks swaying as he did so. "Ain't surprised you were chosen to be the Jinchuuriki" He said, getting everyone's attention. "Someone of your heritage is the most fitting host, Uzumaki"

Naruto tilted his head as he stared confusingly at him. "My heritage? You mean… the Uzumaki clan? I don't think I'm related to them" He crossed his arms behind his head. "I think I was just named in honor of them"

The Uzumaki clan of Uzushio, famed as the greatest seal masters of the Elemental Nations. Their seals were strong enough to even bind the Bijuu; indeed, many seals used throughout the nations had been inspired, if not outright invented, by them. If their knowledge of seals wasn't enough, they also possessed tremendous life force and vast chakra pools. Their village on their island surrounded by whirlpools couldn't really be called a Hidden Village; they existed long before the founding of the first ninja villages after all.

But one day, attacked from all sides, Uzushio had been destroyed, and the clan was no more.

Kouhei scratches the back of his head; "You really sure? Granted all Uzumakis are redheads. And seeing a blond Uzu is just weird."

"If you want me to punch you, you're getting there," Naruto growled.

"Uzumaki have enormous reserves of chakra combined with incredible longevity and stamina," Haku also brought up. "You seem to possess such"

Tenten tilted her head as she thought out loud; "Wouldn't being Jinchuuriki also give Naruto huge amount chakra?"

"You'd be right," Yugito spoke up; "But Uzumakis have incredibly high levels of chakra naturally. I heard that's the reason they're considered to be the most fitting hosts for the Nine Tails. And they are the greatest Fūinjutsu masters ever; stories said their talent came naturally to them"

Everyone looked right to the blond; "I only just started Fūinjutsu after graduation…"

"But you're really good at it," Sakura countered.

"I mean..." Naruto scratched his head, trying to come up with a possible explanation. "Could be a coincidence. Besides, the old man would have told me anyway if I'm really an Uzumaki"

"That is a good point" Lee added as he strokes his chin in though. "Does Hokage-sama know about your parents' identities? Has he told you about them?"

"He does. And noooo..." Naruto dragged out a sigh; "He says I'll know 'when I'm ready'" He came to hate those words sometimes. "I just... don't get why he never told me"

"Might be something you were not ready to handle yet" Tenten suggested. "Maybe he waited for you to mature a bit. And hey, you're not the knucklehead you used to be... much" She giggled at his pouty glare. "Try asking him after the exams are over"

"Yeah..." A wide smile suddenly grew on his lips. "Yeah I'll do that!" A frown quickly stood in the place of his sudden bout of good mood. "Though, it sucks I know so little about my own history you know? I mean, if I truly was an Uzumaki you'd think there'd be evidence about it, records or something"

Sakura, Lee and Tenten grew pensive at his words, there was more to the mystery of Naruto's heritage, he met most of the traits usually associated with the Uzumaki clan but there was something missing.

Neji, who merely stood by and idly listened to their conversation, sighed; "For all the emphasis our teachers place into 'looking underneath the underneath'-"

Naruto cut in; "Oh your teacher tells you that crap too?"

Neji continued as though he wasn't interrupted; "Taking that lesson too much to heart can make it difficult to see what's right in front of us"

Tenten looked at him in confusion; "What do you mean?"

The prodigy of the Hyuuga sighed. "You want to find the truth behind his heritage, perhaps there is a potential lead to such answer you're all overlooking" He turned his pearly gaze to them. "Think of this; who was a famed shinobi of this village that happened to belong to the Uzumaki clan?"

Tenten and Lee gasped in sudden surprise and realization. "You mean..." Lee started.

Neji nodded. "Indeed"

"Mito Uzumaki, the Shodai's wife!"

The Hyuuga and the weapon mistress face-faulted at that. "No, you dumbass!" Tenten admonished him at the sheer idiocy of his answer. "He meant someone closer to our time!" A very wide, very toothy (and a little fangirly, the other thought disturbingly) smile. "The Red Death, Kushina Uzumaki!"

Kouhei whistled; "I heard she was a total badass. She was an ANBU operative before she joined the front lines in the war. Best kenjutsu wielder in your village."

"N-Next to your slug S-Sannin Tsunade-Sama, she was the second deadliest kunoichi," Chojuru adjusted his glasses; "Z-Zabuza-Sensei respects someone of that caliber"

"If you saw a red streak," Karui shivered, this was something older ninja of their village would scare them with; "you were already dead. Thus her moniker, 'Red Death'"

Naruto just looked wide eyed hearing the praises about Kushina. Again the images of his dream flashed in his mind for a second. "Okay, she's cool."

"Are you kidding me?" Tenten outright gushed. Again disturbing everyone around her; "Kushina-sama is considered a war hero, having fought in the Third Shinobi War! She decimated squadrons almost as fast as the Yondaime! She's an example to kunoichi everywhere, a student of the White Fang himself!"

Sakura's eyes widened at that. "The White Fang? Kakashi-sensei's father?!" Even though... dishonored as the man was, there was no doubting the White Fang had been an extremely powerful shinobi on par with the Sannin. To have been trained by him...

Surprised as he was by THAT particular tidbit of info, Naruto couldn't help but sweatdrop at the girl's... enthusiasm. "Y-You sure are well informed..."

"Oh she was just so awesome! I'd be lucky if I become half the shinobi she was!"

Neji gave a very worried gaze to his teammate before looking at the Jinchuuriki of their village. "What I am trying to is, there is a possibility you might be related to her, if you are a member of the Uzumaki clan that is"

Naruto frowned at his words. "What, that she was my... my mother or something?" It was... hard to believe.

"I do not believe Kushina-sama was pregnant" Lee threw in.

Tenten shook her head. "Not that I heard, and believe me, I looked up a lot of info about her. Combat style, techniques, but having been an ANBU a lot of her service history is classified. Most you can get are rumors" She said with a shrug. "Haven't even heard of her having a spouse or partner of any sort. Unless you believe that stuff about her and the Yonda..."

Tenten suddenly just fell silent in the middle of her sentence. Her eyes ever so slowly going wide as she stared at Naruto. She just... stared at him awkwardly with a strangely shocked expression, as though she suddenly came about a missing piece of a puzzle and the realization simply left her in a state of stupor.

Neji, feeling puzzled, stared at his teammate in confusion. What could have caused her to look so shocked? By her last words it seemed like she was in the middle of suggesting there may been a relationship between Kushina Uzumaki and the late Yondaime...

The missing piece fell into place for Neji as well, and he was now openly staring at the blonde with the same amount of stupor.

Lee, Sakura and Naruto could only stare uncomfortably at their companions. Something weird was going on with them...

"Um guys?" Naruto tried to snap them out of it.

It was no use, Neji and Tenten continued to gawk at him.

"Y-You okay?"

Tenten's mouth moved as she finally managed to find her voice. "Oh my gods..."

"I-It can't be, but..." Neji slowly shook his head. "The resemblance... his last name, his Jinchuuriki status, it all fits..!"

NOW the others were confused. Kouhei whispered to Haku; "Uh are we missing something?" The Yuki could only shrug in reply.

Yugito perked up as she heard Matatabi make a sound of understanding. " **Ahhhhh, so that's how it is...** "

Sakura couldn't take it anymore; "Would you please let us in on the secret, guys?"

Naruto agreed. "Yeah, the suspense is killing me"

Nothing could have prepared any of them for what came after, especially not Naruto.

"…You're the Yondaime's son," Tenten spoke without thinking.

You could hear a pin-drop in the forest at that moment. Naruto's jaw almost hit the ground as Lee and Sakura's eyes went as wide as dinner plates. Karui drop her sword while she was cleaning it, while Omoi's lollipop fell from his mouth. Matatabi only laughed at the reaction of her host, just Kurama snorted.

"H-H-H-Holy Shit..." Karui taking a long look at Naruto's face; "YOU ARE HIS KID!"

Chojuru didn't register his glasses falling of his face while Haku and Kouhei gawk at the revelation. As for Naruto his mind felt like it was spinning before shaking it off; "C-Come on guys. I might idolize the guy but ther-" he stopped as Sakura turned his head. The rosette's emerald orbs took in every detail of the blond's face.

Every lesson and few photos Sakura had seen her mind compared to her teammate. Her heart almost stopped as she spoke in a stupor; "You are Minato Namikaze's son Naruto... Your face might be round, but every detail, even the hair... It matches his."

It had to be the longest, most painful silence in Naruto's life.

He was sure he was breathing yet at the same time he felt he was constantly out of breath. He couldn't hear anything, neither the forest itself, nor the people around him. For all intends and purposes he was no longer on the same location, he was on some far away world where his senses felt nothing.

But that nothing left room for a single thought, one that as much as he tried to deny it he couldn't refute it

 _'You are his son'_

His entire body trembled.

 _'You are his son'_

His lips involuntarily formed a smile, but were at the same time forced down with a quiver, pushed down by the weight of happiness, sadness, realization and anger.

' _You are his son_ '

It was like Sakura said. His hair, his eyes, his skin. He just... never saw it before. He held the Yondaime as such a faraway ideal that he couldn't compare himself to him in any kind of regard, so he never took it into consideration.

But... his birthday, the fact that he was chosen on that fateful day. All the pieces fell into place and he could no longer deny the perfectly clear picture presented in front of him

He was... the Yondaime's son.

" **Hmph"** The fox huffed inside his mind. **"So you finally realized"**

The single confirmation sent him into a fit of soft joyous laughter mixed in with despairing sobs. Before knowing it Sakura had wrapped her arms around the blond as he physically shook as he cried.

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Finally after an hour Naruto had composed himself for Sakura to let him go. But still held his hand as the blond's breathing was ragged. "That's why Jiji kept it quiet," his voice was almost a whisper but was heard to everyone nonetheless.

"He had a good reason to," Haku said in sympathy, it pained her seeing her friend in such a state; "Your father had a lot of enemies. If they learned of you..." The Hyoton user sharply turned to Kumo.

Yugito waved it off; "Hey, don't look at us. That's the Raikage's old grudge" She looked to Karui and Omoi who nodded. "Besides, it ain't nothing compared to Iwa though"

"That old bag of bones in Iwa can't find this out," Kouhei nearly yelled pointing to Naruto; "If he learns this, I can't even begin to guess the amount of assassins he'd send!"

This was very true. The Sandaime of Iwagakure, Ōnoki of Both Scales as Naruto remembered from Jiji, was a very spiteful man who deeply hated both Konoha and his father after the massive casualties inflicted to them on the last war.

Neji gave a disbelieving gaze to the Kumo genin. "I find it surprising you lot even care what happens to him" He said with accusation. "Considering what your people did to the Uzumaki clan"

The ninja of Kumo collectively winced at his words for they could not deny them.

Tenten made an awkward sound while Lee had choose to look at a blade of grass he suddenly found infinitely more interesting.

That's right... Uzushio had been destroyed by a joint attack of both Kumo and Iwa. Their forces marched upon the island nation and reduced the village to rubble, the death toll had been massive. The Uzumaki clan was eradicated... but not without wounding the Kumo and Iwa armies massively for their transgression.

If Iwa could not forget nor forgive the Yondaime Hokage for the casualties he inflicted on them, then neither Konoha could forgive what Iwa and Kumo had done to their old allies. Wearing their emblem upon their flak jackets was a symbol not just to remember the fallen clan, but to warn the other villages they would never forget what they did to the Uzumaki.

"Neji, that's enough"

So it was surprising when they heard it was Naruto who said that, his gaze forlorn as he stared at the ground. "They weren't the ones who do it, it's a waste of time to get mad at them" Such a weird feeling it was, to find out where he came from, his legacy... only to discover it had been destroyed long ago.

"Honor demands you do not forgive the sins against your family" Neji pressed on.

"Yeah, against the people responsible. And I just said it's not them" The Jinchuuriki replied.

"...Do as you wish" The Hyuuga left it at that, clearly unsatisfied with his answer.

" **How are you feeling, kitten?"** The Two Tails asked gently.

Naruto let out an explosive breath. "I'll tell you when I figure out how to feel"

Sakura exchanged a confused look with the others. "Uh, what?"

"I'm talking to her Biju" Naruto said, pointing to Yugito who just waved. "Turns out they can speak telepathically with each other and their hosts"

"Oh, that's... disturbing" Sakura blinked before turning to Yugito; "You're a Jinchuuriki too?!"

"The Nibi Jinchuuriki," Yugito clarified.

"Her Biju's pretty nice... This is more than I can say for a certain furball ASSHOLE!"

Matatabi scoffed **; "That old grouch has always been an asshole. I have plenty of stories to tell you"** Kurama only growled; **"Oh hush you overinflated imitation of a kitsune!"**

Before saying more they heard a light groan. Turning their heads they saw Sasuke was finally beginning stir.

"Prince charming is finally awake," Kouhei jokes. "Took you a while"

"Yeah because you shocked the shit out of him, jackass," Karui retorted.

Standing up and walking over him, Naruto knelt down in front of his teammate; "You alright now?" Sasuke shook his head before gazing at the ropes binding him and dryly looking back at Naruto. "Are you surprised considering how you were acting?"

The Uchiha grunts; "Fair point... Sorry for that."

Sakura gently shook her head as she came over and helped Naruto undid his bonds; "What happened to you back there?"

The Uchiha's gaze became lost as he tried to come up with an answer. "I have no idea..." He honestly sounded frightened. "I felt... like there was 'something' in my thoughts, urging me to just... use that power blindly on anyone. It was like I was lost in a haze and could barely think straight"

Neji's eyes narrowed. "That sounds disturbingly close to mind manipulation techniques. Which are forbidden for a reason" His Byakugan activated, only for a moment, just to inspect the mark on Sasuke's neck. "And I can say for certain it has to do with that seal on your neck"

His binds released, Sasuke stood up and carefully touched the mark on his neck. "What did that bastard do to me?"

"You should tell the Hokage the moment you see him" Tenten urgently advised. "Whatever Orochimaru did to you it needs to be dealt with immediately"

He grunted in reply. "No arguments here" The last thing he needed was the traitor Sannin toying him. Gods know what plans he had in mind? The stories they heard about those sickening experiments... Sasuke didn't even want to image it.

"I could give it a look" Naruto offered. "Doubt I'd be able to do anything on a seal of that level, but I think I might be able to tell if it's acting up again"

His teammate pondered for a few seconds before conceding with a nod. "Go ahead"

Naruto walked up to him and placed a hand on his seal, trying to get a feel of the chakra running through it. It was a simple enough practice so it didn't require much concentration from his part. "Oh you won't guess what happened; I think I figured out who my father was!"

"The Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze. Which explains your status as the village's jinchuuriki" Sasuke replied without missing a beat.

The other young genin present stared at him in surprise. "Wait, you heard us?" Naruto asked in bewilderment.

"No, I figured it out literally the day we were assigned to the same team"

"...Seriously?!" Naruto's shout would have scared various birds and other animals, if the previous fighting hadn't done so already.

The Uchiha winced, angrily staring at the idiot who choose to shout right next to his ear. "Yeah, didn't know how to break it to you so I waited for you to figure it out" He rolled his eyes at Naruto's glare. "Oh don't give me that look. Do I look like the kind of person who can talk about sensitive family matters?"

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* * *

As the early morning sun rose, the respected teams had a small breakfast of some fish caught at a river close by. Going through some books of Fūinjutsu he had in a scroll, Team 7 with some help from Haku read them over. "So far nothing matches anything on what Hebi-teme put on you. And according to what I felt when inspecting it you can't use jutsu or try molding your chakra," Naruto mutter turning a page; "not without making it act up again at least"

Well that didn't sit well with the Uchiha, he groaned as he ran a hand through his hair; "Which leaves me with Taijutsu. You sure you can't do anything?"

The blond looked up with a dry look; "I just started this stuff a few months ago. Whether I am an actual Uzumaki or not I'm still just a beginner. I'm not one of those stupid OP characters from television."

 **"Yet you're a total fanboy over that princess Gale movie nonsense I annoyingly have to endure all the time you watch one,"** Kurama chides.

 _'Oh shut up furball!_ '

The Hyoton user closed her book; "Nothing in this one." A similar calling came from Sakura who groaned in annoyance. The blond just huffed but kept looking through his own book.

Kouhei snickered mirthfully; "Careful Uchiha, that thing might turn you into a weresnake or something"

"A weresnake?" Sasuke deadpanned.

"Yeah, like a werewolf. Only it's a snake"

"I'm not some youkai of legend; I won't turn into a animal"

"Hey just saying, that Orochimaru guy did some _fucked up_ shit. Even in Kiri they tell horror stories about what type of experiments he must have done to scare young genin. And this is Kiri we're talking about, trust me, we know when something is messed up"

"Thanks, I feel better already..." Sasuke's tone was as dry as sand.

"Leave him alone, Kouhei" Haku admonished in a tone Kouhei had labeled as ' _The Scolding Older Sister Voice_ '. "He has enough on his plate as it is"

The brown haired young man snorted but said no more, Chojuru sweatdropped at the whole scene.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and ignored them, his gaze shifted to Naruto who kept on reading on of his books on fūinjutsu. The revelations of his lineage lingered on his mind, if Naruto truly was an Uzumaki, son of not just the Yondaime but of Kushina Uzumaki, then he too came from a great clan whose future was taken from them.

Their destruction brought about by fear, unsurprising considering the Uzumaki developed seals capable of binding the Biju and doing many other wondrous things. And that was without going into their own physical and martial prowess.

Naruto did not experience it like he did, but Sasuke could at least understand that Naruto would try to live up to that legacy. Despite everything, if there was something positive he could say about Naruto was his unwavering determination to accomplish anything he sets his mind on. The Uchiha could respect that drive.

His thoughts once more returned to that name, Kushina Uzumaki... It was one he was familiar with. A name that her mother had mentioned in many occasions, followed by a tone of nostalgia and mourning, along with a pained look in her eyes.

"Naruto" He started talking before he could stop himself. "That woman, Kushina... you think she was your mother?"

"...I dunno, she might have been" The blonde softly replied, his gaze suddenly becoming hazed.

"Hmm" Sasuke muttered as he turned away, looking not at his blue eyes, but at the blue stream of the river. "My mother knew this woman... She had nothing but good things to say about her" Why was he doing this? He honestly didn't know; he just started talking without thinking. "I think they were friends"

None of the other shinobi dared speak, or do anything that would interrupt this moment the two were clearly having.

"...Your mom visited me sometimes, you know?" Naruto too wasn't looking at him, but at the river instead. "Cooking, cleaning some stuff for me, and teaching me how to do it. She... She always smiled kindly at me"

Sasuke said nothing.

"She was amazing" The blonde said.

"Yeah... she was" Sasuke's voice was thicker and softer than his teammates had ever heard him. "...I believe your mother must have been so too"

And the two fell silent, there was nothing more to say.

Sakura didn't know why she was smiling, but she felt that right now something good, something great, had happened between the two boys. And she couldn't help but feel just so happy that it did.

It was a moment the three would treasure in their own ways. Nothing could mar it.

Lee sniffed loudly, tears streaming down his face like waterfalls as snot dripped from his nose.

Well almost nothing.

The taijutsu specialist lifted a shaking fist. "This... This is the bonding between two manly spirits!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes; Sakura groaned and while Naruto loudly facepalmed.

"Lee, I swear!" Tenten growled, "If you ruin this moment for them I will END YOU!"

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* * *

A young red haired girl in glasses screamed in the forest as massive black bear stood on it hind legs roaring at her. At its side were the mauled remains of her team as it looked hungrily at its next meal. This was it, this was how her life would end. It wouldn't even be another shinobi that would do her in, but a damn bear. Alright the bear was gigantic but that didn't make it any less painful.

Though she was certain the humiliation wouldn't hurt as much as those claws descending on her.

In her last moments, she could despair over her life choices. Leaving Kusa was something she would not regret, but allying with Orochimaru? Oh gods she had been a foolish child. A very lonely, very much lost child who had clinged to the first hand that offered aid and companionship.

She would die alone, without anyone ever even caring about what became of her. She would die and be forgotten, just like her clan...

Such a painful realization that was, the tears running down her cheeks were no longer that of fear, but also regret and sadness that her life had amounted to nothing.

The bear roared, raising its claws to maul her. And Karin braced for the end.

A shock flashed through her nerves like lightning, heralding the coming of another new and potent chakra signature.

"PISS! OFF!" Shouted as a yellow blur that descended upon the bear's head. A leg shrouded on what appeared to be crystal landed in the middle of the bear's eyes, shattering on impact and sending the great beast backwards, its body plummeted to the ground, sending strong tremors as consciousness left its massive form.

Karin could only gawk in stupor as her savior landed in front of him. Blonde with spiky hair, tanned skin, whisker-like marks on his face, deep blue eyes that stared curiously at her.

"Hey, hey, you okay?" He asked

The redhead nodded numbly, the chakra coming off from him...

He smiled brightly; "Good! Careful around here, the animals in the forest are huge! Heh, don't need to tell you that though"

...it was so bright. Cheerful and happy, warm and comforting, like the gentle rays of the sun. A world of difference from Orochimaru's dark and cold chakra.

Then she felt the giant mass of pure raw power deep inside him, so vast and alive, and the rage that came with it.

Karin shivered despite herself. Could he be... Konoha's jinchuuriki?

The blond gave a mournful glance to the redhead's teammates; "Sorry about those guys." he looks back to the girl; "You can get back to one of the gates okay?"

"UZUMAKI!" Karui and Kouhei both yelled. "You done playing hero? We got a schedule!" the redhead Kumo Kunoichi finished.

Naruto glared up back to the trees, not noticing the stare from the redhead in front of him; "GOT IT!" He sighs before turning back giving the thumbs up, "Stay safe!" Like a blur the blond was back up into the trees and was gone.

Uzumaki... Her heart skipped, they called him Uzumaki...

 _'Wait a minute... Uzumaki are redheads, mom told me that... but'_ Karin felt his chakra. And it was as large as hers or her late mother's. And it didn't feel like it was byproduct of being Jinchuuriki. No, that kind of chakra came naturally from him.

Was that blond boy truly an Uzumaki? Then... she couldn't stop the smile forming on her face. She wasn't alone anymore! But her joy soon froze as she remembered who's side was she on.

Orochimaru... Did he know? Oh course he knew there was just no way he didn't. He purposely must have kept that information from her. The kindly man who had offered her a place to belong didn't exist anymore, only the cruel and sadistic monster that performed those painful experiments on her remained. Her days with Oto were filled with gloom and loneliness, yet she had remained as she felt that 'purpose' Orochimaru gave her was the only thing she had left in her life.

But... there were Uzumaki here weren't they? At least there had been. And now that boy... Could she truly-?

Karin shook her head. Oh just entertaining those thoughts was too dangerous. Listen to yourself Karin, betraying Orochimaru? That was a death sentence. The snake sannin did not suffer traitors.

But if she promised information in exchange for protection then her odds of survival would drastically increase. She didn't know much of Orochimaru's plans for the exams, having been assigned here merely as a supporting role to the Sound team. But she knew the location of some of his bases, something Konoha would be very interested in.

Still, the risk was too great. Could she actually do it? She didn't hold any love for Orochimaru, and the chance at meeting a possible descendant of her clan, something her parents dearly wished for her... that kind of chances didn't present themselves often.

Karin wasn't sure if what course of action to take yet, but she began formulating plans on what to do if she choose to take on this opportunity presented to her

* * *

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* * *

Step by step she ascended to the temple; her black red lined kimono billowed gently with the breeze of the open aired structure. Every clear cut brick, every piece of masonry, from the tiles on the walls, to the archway which leads into the central chamber and the large pediments atop the entrances were carved to the finest detail, depicting a myriad of beings, events and people prominent in history.

The central chamber stood at the center of the temple, in the middle of carefully maintained garden, shaped like a kiln with four entrances built in the four cardinal directions and no roof, as so the sun and moon could shine inside it.

The interior walls were carved with as much care and detail as was every other section of the temple. This one contained carvings that held much significance to the people of their nation, with giants of multiple arms and heads as they performed the arts, the proper religious practices, and shed blood gloriously in an ancient conflict.

The woman, of pale alabaster skin and ebony locks styled in a hime cut, stopped by the north entrance as her red eyes settled upon the hunchback cloaked figure tracing symbols and figures upon a pool of sand in the middle of the central chamber.

"I was informed you had a vision, is it true o' old one?" She said with reverence, her tone rich and regal, and her voice musical and soft.

The hunchback figure did not turn to see her, merely replied. "It depends" He asked; "Are you ready to accept it? For when I tell you, there will be no going back"

There was no hesitation in her voice. "I am"

The cloaked man continued tracing on the sand. "You once asked me if I could see a prosperous future for our people. There is a chance… and fates indicate it rests on the shoulder of those who bear Rama's Will"

The woman stilled. "It lives on, after so long?"

"Oh indeed, in those who can smile in the face of overwhelming odds, whose true colors shine when all is dark and their presence gives way to light" He finished his tracing and shakily stood back, supporting himself on his staff. "You will find such will alive… among the village of leaves"

The woman stepped forward, looking at the symbols on the sand. An intricate leaf inside a flame.

The Hidden Leaf Village, the shinobi force of the Land of Fire.

A ninja? Was it truly possible?

She frowned; "What will this inheritor do?"

"Help decide if our kind can share this world with them… or if we are to be destroyed"

The ultimatum made her turn her head sharply, fear and apprehension clear in her red gaze. "Are you sure? Then this means we can no longer hide so even if we tried…"

"Everything changes eventually; such is the way of things… There is a great darkness coming, a conflict that will engulf the entire world. We must do our part, for our actions too will help decide the outcome, for our people, and for many others"

His words concerned her, greatly. If he spoke the truth then isolation would no longer be an option. "…What if your Sight is wrong, and this heir proves to be our destruction? What if there is no chance of a future?"

A wrinkly hand took a hold of his hood, and pulled it back to reveal a fabric covering his empty eye sockets.

"I see much ever since I gave up my gaze… It is true that one path might lead to ruin, but hope yet remains, my lady"

"…Then I will trust your words" With a swift turn she made to leave the premises. "I go for Konoha, alone, to judge this for myself. And pray the ancestors guide us in the coming days"

The blind man bowed as much as he could. "Gods guide you, Queen Kuroreimei"

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 **Till next time!**


	17. Rise

**Disclaimer:** We do not own Naruto

 **Co-author & Beta**: Etheral-23

 **Chapter 17: Rise**

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 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

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"Orochimaru of the Densetsu no Sannin pays a visit to your village. Oh yeah, he puts a weird hickey seal on your teammate which also drove him a little crazy. Also tried to do the same to you, never mind the fact we found out you're Minato Namikaze's son. Possibly also being the Red Death, Kushina Uzumaki's son, this would make you an actual member of the Uzumaki clan. These key factors which would require speaking to your Kage immediately to verify these potential facts, something that any other people would want to do as fast as possible… And you decide to save some random ass girl not even from your village," Kouhei's snarkiness was almost palpable as he spoke nonchalantly.

Karui also put her two cents; "Never mind hebi-teme might still be lurking around along with the massive carnivorous animals that want to kill and eat us too. I'm just throwing it out there, hun."

"SHE WAS GOING TO BE EATEN BY A MASSIVE BEAR, DID YOU WANT ME TO WATCH YOU ASSHOLES!?"

"Well not watch per say, but we have more pressing priorities. So… Yeah should have just let her die," Omoi spoke back calmly with Kumo's strong military doctrine repeating in his mind.

"You guys are just heartless bastards aren't ya?!"

"We're shinobi. It's called _'being pragmatic'_ "

Sakura and Haku both sigh as their unique motley crew journeys for the center tower within the Forest of Death. In the back of the rosette's mind becoming a Chunin was shelved at the moment given the chaotic events of the past few days.

The Chunin Exams were a stressing matter in and of itself, but add the factors of these crazy days it was like her entire world had been turn around its head. Between the competing foreign teams, the constant life or death situation (even more than what happened in Wave...) a freaking SANNIN of all people attacking them, how they even managed to survive was a miracle. Orochimaru must have been feeling merciful... though she doubted it, considering the stories she heard about him.

Sakura casted one worried gaze at Sasuke, namely at his neck. Or perhaps it was whatever Orochimaru had done to him that made decide too spare them. Was her teammate Orochimaru's new experiment? She shuddered at the thought

Another big point of these trials had been the revelations.

Naruto's status as a Jinchuuriki... his parentage. She couldn't even behind to guess the racing distraught thoughts that had to swarming his mind at this very moment.

 _'Whether or not Naruto is an actual Uzumaki he still has us. I just hope Hokage-Sama can give him some much needed answers.'_

"Hey I see something," the rosette was taken out of her thoughts as Yugito spoke up.

Everyone took a large collective sigh upon seeing the sole man-made structure in this hellhole of a training zone. Near one of the larger rivers in the zone, the tower itself was a massive pagoda painted red with tan roofing for each floor.

"About damn time," Karui muttered as they all land on solid ground at the Tower's base. "And we have a few days to ourselves and catch our breathe."

Which was true, having only spent two days in the dangerous forest, it gave them all three days of free-time.

Naruto made his way over to Haku and Yugito; "Thank you, again."

Haku gave a light polite bow; "It was our pleasure" Chojuru gave them a nervous nod while Kouhei just gave them a thumbs up.

"Hey, not a problem Uzumaki" Yugito gave him a cat-like smirk. "We probably gonna end up having to fight each other one day" She raised her hand for him to grasp it. "Ain't any reason for use to be bitter about it"

Surprised at her attitude and invitation, Naruto quickly replied with a grin of his own and grasped her hand in firm hold. "I really hope that if we fight, it's not because our villages are acting stupid. I wanna see what you're made of in the arena"

"Heh! You're gonna regret that" The handshake tightened ever so slightly. "I'd wipe the floor with you"

Blue eyes sharpened, his tone gained a competitive. "Oh yeah?" Their hands began to tremble as the two put more strength into their grasp.

"Yeah" Yugito returned the same edge in her voice.

"Oh yeah?!"

"Yeah!"

By now their arms were shaking visibly with how much strength they were putting into their handshake, one could imagine the sparks flying in between their locked gaze.

Matatabi let out a long tired sighed; **"Kids these days..."**

Tenten only sweatdrop at the scene; _'Still saner than what I normally deal with'_

Neji only rolled his eyes while Sasuke grunts; "if you're done flirting dobe, can we finish this part of the exam so I can get looked at?"

"OH SHUT UP!" Both blond roar back at the Uchiha, blushing.

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* * *

Saying their farewells, each team went through a different pair of large double doors into a spacious room with words carved on one wall. Kouhei gave only a dry look to the words while Chojuru cleaned his glasses beside him. "Really, some dumb riddle a five year old could solve?"

Haku stretched her arms; "Would you rather face Orochimaru again?" Her teammate turned several shades white, giving the Hyoton user her answer.

Putting his glasses back on, the shy swordsman looked to Haku; "D-Do we tell Mizukage-Sama about N-Naruto-San?"

"No," the brunette responded flatly; "I won't put Naruto-Kun's life in anymore danger than it is being a ninja. He does not need a bullseye on his back."

"Are you nuts?" Kouhei spoke up incredulously; "I get you like the guy, but Mizukage-sama has to know who Naruto's father is, along with his Jinchuuriki status. You don't let that kind of information on the back burner. That's ground for treason Haku."

"Then mine are the consequences" Her tone left no room for argument.

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* * *

Solving the riddle was simple enough, the scrolls held a summoning array when overlapped. They needed inform any superior about Sasuke's mark, what Orochimaru had to him, urgently.

"Hope it's Kakashi-sensei, he'll know what to do" Naruto said with certainty.

"They'll inform the Hokage regardless, it's he who needs to know as fast as possible" Sakura replied. It involved his student after all, if anyone had any idea what was going on than it'd be their leader.

Sasuke grunted, placing a hand over his mark in mild distress. He wanted this cursed thing out of him; "Let's not waste time"

Sharing a nod with his teammates, Naruto stepped forward with the scrolls and positioned them so the arrays would fit. A soft application of chakra signaled the other end activated them.

A plume of smoke burst-ed from them, and to their surprise it was their academy teacher, Iruka Umino, who appeared forth. He looked at them with that kind smile he often have them when they were younger. "I'm so happy to see you three made it forth. I can see it wasn't easy for you but-"

"Sensei!" Sakura cut him off and took a step forward with urgency in her voice. "Orochimaru attacked us in the forest"

His breath caught in his throat, and the color quickly left his face. "W-What?!"

"He gave Sasuke some sort of... weird seal!" Naruto added with distress, remembering how their teammate had lashed out at them.

Sasuke showed the academy teacher the evidence, tugging at his collar to better display the seal on his neck.

A shallow gasp escaped Iruka's lips, they saw the sheer worry and horror written on his face as clear as day.

The chunin managed to regain his bearings and quickly instructed them with the authority a teacher possessed; "Stay here, I'll be right back!" His hands formed a seal and he disappeared with the same burst of smoke he had materialized with.

It wasn't long before Iruka reappeared with Hiruzen in tow, his expression grave; "Show me," the Hokage ordered, not beating around the bush.

Upon showing the mark Orochimaru placed on his shoulder the Sandaime spoke sternly; "We need to seal this off immediately."

"Jiji," Hiruzen glanced over to Naruto; "After you help Sasuke, I need to talk to you."

The Hokage nodded before placing his hand on Sasuke's other shoulder and vanishing via shunshin. Iruka only sighed rubbing his brow; "Why did he come back now?"

"Orochimaru is after Sasuke, and Naruto," Sakura quietly spoke up making the scar chunin sharply look at her and then to Naruto.

"I'm okay he didn't get me."

Relief washed over Iruka before noticing how quiet his former student was; "What's wrong?"

Cerulean eyes stared up at him with a myriad of mixed emotions. "I..." Should he tell him? Iruka-sensei was to be trusted after all, he could always count on him when he was feeling down. But... could he? It was all still very overwhelming, part of him didn't even believe it despite evidence to the contrary. That he was the Yondaime's son...

Letting out a long breath, he finally said; "It's complicated. I uh, I found out some things in the forest" His gaze became downcast, falling to the floor. "Currently processing it"

Iruka knelt down, gently placing a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Are you feeling okay?" He asked with genuine concern.

"Think I will be"

"Well, when you feel ready to talk you know where to find me" He smiled at the boy. "And then, I'll treat you to Ichiraku, does that sound good?"

Naruto slowly smiled; "You got it."

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* * *

With his shirt off, Sasuke sat quietly as the Hokage, joined now by Kakashi, examine Orochimaru's seal. "Naruto looked this over for you?" the silver haired Jounin asked.

"Yeah, said I couldn't use jutsu or mold chakra without risking further exposure to the seal. But he couldn't seal it himself."

"His skills aren't advanced enough for something like this," Hiruzen said critically, looking at every detail of the seal. "Before that you say you heard a voice?"

"Yes, told me to gain more power, and kill anyone in my way," The Uchiha stared at the ground, "I attacked Naruto because of that damn thing. Can you get rid of it Hokage-sama?"

The wizened Kage made a guttural sound as he stroked his beard. "Not fully, I'm afraid" Those words sent any hope Sasuke have crashing down. "But, I can suppress its effects via sealing. Limit its influence, and allow you to use jutsu and mold chakra again without risk of the cursed seal's chakra infecting"

"Is it really the option?" Limiting its influence and returning to him his abilities sounded great, but he didn't feel comfortable with that seal being stuck on his neck.

Kakashi jauntily supplied; "We could gouge out the flesh around the seal, removing all infected chakra points"

"...Sealing it is then" Sasuke said in defeated acceptance.

The Hokage patted his shoulder. "Try to remain calm my boy, this will hurt"

He let out a humorless laugh. "I'm used to pain by now"

"If that makes you feel better"

Sasuke felt the Hokage's hand seal, chakra humming through his fingers and into him. The young Uchiha felt an unpleasant pressure built up but it was anything-

Oh gods, the pain! He wailed loudly as he felt the searing hot burning of flames and electricity mixed into one coursing from his neck and over his body, almost like someone was pressing a soldering iron into his neck while spilling boiling water on him.

The Hokage's face was one of grizzled determination as he finished the final touches to the counter-seal, the matrix was in place, sealing off the infection area of the cursed mark. "Seal!"

An array of kanji appeared around the three tomoe, the letters quickly shining before turning invisible. The curse mark remained, but now it was inert.

The pain stopped, but the sensations lingered for a moment. Sasuke gasped as he placed a trembling hand over his neck.

"It is done" The Hokage informed him. "That should keep the cursed mark at bay"

"Relax, Sasuke. Breath" His sensei advised him. "Slowly"

The young Uchiha slowly reigned in his breathing, the rising and falling of his chest becoming less irregular by the moment as he regained his bearings, the pain slowly vanishing. After a few more slow intakes of air, Sasuke could sigh in relief. "Thank you my lord" He said in respectful gratitude to the elder Kage

Sasuke watched in confusion as the Hokage's face become a touch melancholic. "You own me nothing, my boy" Even his tone was heavy.

It was odd, but Sasuke didn't give it much thought as he put on his shirt again.

Kakashi placed a hand on his shoulder. "You should go with Sakura and Naruto. Get some rest before the debriefing for the next part of the exam starts"

Sasuke nodded, the thought of his teammates making him remember the events that had transpired in the forest. He struggled for a moment to find the right words before looking at the village leader in the face. "Naruto knows the truth about his father, Hokage-sama"

His sensei let out a soft gasp of shock, his visible eye widening.

Hiruzen, despite the slight show of emotion he had displayed early, managed to remain stoic in the face of this news.

"...Indeed?" Was the only thing he said.

Sasuke nodded in reply. "Yes. It is none of my business, but I believe you must talk with him"

Slowly, the Hokage exhaled. "Yes... Yes I believe it has been a long time coming"

* * *

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

* * *

Both Sakura and Naruto were ecstatic to find a room designated for their team with three beds and a bathroom. The blond planted himself face first into one of the mattresses eliciting a giggle from his female teammate.

The rosette sat down beside him; "Interesting few days huh?"

Naruto snorted before shifting to lie on his back. His cerulean stares up at the ceiling; "Are you... really okay about me? Being Jinchuuriki and all?" His questions was met with a flick to the forehead; "OW!"

The rosette gave the blond a dry gaze; "Baka," Sakura's voice was quiet as she looked him in the eyes; "I meant every word. It doesn't matter if you're the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki. Your my friend and teammate. Maybe future Godaime Hokage if you stop being so wishy washy," Sakura said as she cheekily grinned.

The blond glared till both began laughing.

Their laughter was cut short by the sound of the door opening, revealing their teammate standing on the door-frame, the Hokage standing behind him with a carefully guarded expression on his face.

Naruto and Sakura bolted to their feet as ran straight to the Uchiha, stopping to an almost screeching halt. "So, are you okay?" Naruto rapidly asked, getting too close to Sasuke's personal space for his liking. "You won't go all murdery again?"

Sasuke scowled; "Only if you don't back away"

Sakura sighed, partly in relief and partly frustrated at their antics. "He's fine."

As the Uchiha moved passed his team to sit one of the beds, Naruto turned back to Hiruzen; "Before we talk just tell me. Please Jiji, am I actually member of the Uzumaki clan?"

Both Sakura and Sasuke watched the stony expression of the Hokage who was silent for a minute before sighing; "Yes... You are the son of Kushina Uzumaki." The blond narrowed his eyes as both his teammates looked wide eyed. "I will speak to you two later on keeping the matter silent. For now I must speak privately to Naruto."

Before either could respond the Hokage and Naruto had vanished.

* * *

XxX ~ Naruto and Hiruzen ~ XxX

* * *

Appearing in Sarutobi's personal office in the tower, the blond saw it looked like his Jiji's office in the Hokage Tower, but honestly he couldn't be bothered with such details at the moment. Going to his desk Hiruzen activated the barrier and silence seals in the room. Moving over to the one couch of the room the Kage sat and looked over to his surrogate grandson.

"Go ahead Naruto-kun."

"I have a clan and you never told me. Why?" the blond spoke in a mixture of pain and rage.

"For your protection. During the third Shinobi War your mother carved her legend into Iwa and Kumo. Kushina was extremely respected and feared with her prowess as a brilliant Kenjutsu, Taijutsu, and Fūinjutsu master. She also had a rare form of chakra where she could create actual solid chains from her energy. Something unique to the Uzumaki."

"You didn't answer my question." Inwardly, he was in awe by his mother's skills.

"During the Second War, your clan was nearly destroyed by a joint attack from Iwa and Kumo. They deeply feared you clan's power. And so when our forces were at our weakest they attacked. Kushina was blessedly in Konoha weeks before the attack. I feared if people knew you were of direct line of the Uzumaki and the Uzukages they would use you for their own ends. You would have been a target"

"I'm a target anyway…" Naruto muttered. He was the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi, something that wasn't a secret anymore. "Just because of the damn fox"

" **Hey I'm not a fan of this either** " Naruto ignored his tenant's words that were filled with annoyance.

"Had everything gone according to plan, you never would have been" The Sandaime sighed, rubbing his forehead. "You mother… She was the previous Jinchuuriki"

Blue eyes snapped open in shock. "What" His response was flat, barely even in a questioning tone.

"That is why she came to Konoha" Hiruzen explained. "She was the most ideal candidate"

"But… I don't get it" Naruto shock his head, a million thoughts running through his mind. "Then how did the Kyuubi get loose?"

"A female Jinchuuriki's pregnancy is not ordinary. The child feeds upon the chakra from the seal, which adds one more month and causes it to weaken immensely upon childbirth"

If he got chakra from the seal, from the fox, then that explained why he got those whisker marks, but… "Didn't you have measures in place?"

The Hokage's gaze was as dry as sand. "Do you think we're stupid my boy? Of course we did. She was taken to give birth on a special location. Surrounded my multiple-layered seals, dozens of ANBU, my own wife taking care of the delivery, the Yondaime himself keeping the seal stable"

"…He was my dad wasn't he?"

At this point, Hiruzen didn't question how Naruto came to know of it. "…Yes"

Naruto's eyes shut tightly, willing himself to not let the tears spill. "Why did he choose me?" He should have known how hard all of this would have been, shouldn't he? What kind of father submitted his son to that kind of fate?

He looked up when he felt a hand upon his shoulder, and saw Hiruzen looking at him with that comforting gaze he always gave him. "Because there was no choice… and a father trusts his son with such responsibility"

"…What happened?"

Hiruzen made a throaty sound; "A question I haven't stopped asking myself after all these years. The best we can tell is that someone interfered, beyond that we have no evidence to make a reasonable theory" He left it at that.

His father… Minato Namikaze was his father, but he was also shinobi, he was also the Hokage. His duty was more than to just him, it was to the entire village.

Could he himself have done the same had he been on his father's shoes? He didn't know the answer, wasn't sure he wanted to know even. So for now, he let the matter drop, he didn't know how to deal with it right now.

Hiruzen sighed. "How did you find out?"

"It's… part of it is hard to explain" He sniffled, rubbing his nose against his arm. "Back in the Forest we figured it out just by piecing things together. It also helps that I'm basically a carbon copy of my… my dad" It felt odd saying that. "Funny how a lot of people can't see that" He bitterly said.

"Oh don't be surprised my boy. People can't see what they don't want to see, even when it's right in front of their face" The Hokage spoke wisely. "You yourself never noticed either because in no way you could compare yourself with the Yondaime am I wrong?"

No, no he was not, Naruto had to admit.

"But that must not be the hard part you meant" Hiruzen noted. "What else tipped you off?"

"I… had a dream where I saw them, I don't know how or why but… I think it was before they died"

The Sandaime's analytical mind immediately began processing that. "Hmm, strange…"

"Were those memories?"

"From you? Please Naruto, you must have been barely an hour old. Babes don't even have pattern recognition at that point, much less the capacity to form memories that just pop out as dreams. It's absurd"

It did sound pretty dumb when he said it like that.

"Hmm" He stroked his beard in thought. "To have such developed memories… They're clearly not yours. The closest answer I can come up with is that it must be residual chakra implanted to you by your parents when they formed the seal, their own memories of that even imprinted into it"

"Can that even work?" He didn't know the mechanics behind such chakra that it could share memories. That was something new for him.

"Chakra works in a lot of ways Naruto. From my studies with the Yamanaka it is not outside the realm of possibility."

His eyes fell to the floor. "It felt… like they loved me"

Hiruzen's arm wrapped around his shoulder. "They did Naruto, gods know they did"

It was… actually very comforting to know that. To know that his parents loved him to the point they gave up their lives for him. He had received love the moment he was born; he wasn't some child nobody had abandoned to fend for his own. He was Naruto, son of Kushina and Minato, two parents who loved their child more than anything else in the world.

He could cling to that feeling, that happiness.

"I… I wish I had something to remember them by"

"You have an inheritance to claim, Naruto" The Hokage said gently. "I was waiting for the day you'd be ready for it… And I think that day has come. In fact" He searched through his robes and pulled out a miniaturized scroll, a single hand seal and it returned to normal. Now that Naruto could look at it better he saw it was green and had a golden lining. "I've been carrying this around for years. Among the items recovered from the scene of the event years ago, we found this scroll with the only instructions being; ' _Open it_ ' they had been written hastily, like the one who did it was under great stress. He suspected it was Kushina. "Despite my best efforts I just couldn't open the damn thing"

Naruto tilted his head as he looked at it. "And why couldn't you?"

"It has a blood lock matrix, only someone of the same blood as the one who used it can open it. There is a fifty-fifty chance it is Minato's or Kushina's blood that is required. An Uzumaki or a Namikaze"

He pieced things together. "You need me to unlock it"

"Well…" The Sandaime rubbed his neck. "That's the thing. You're both Namikaze and Uzumaki, there's the chance the seal won't recognize your mixed blood and collapse, destroying the contents inside"

"Oh" Naruto's eyes widened. Yeah, that was a big risk. And yet… "I want to try"

Hiruzen looked at him with apprehension. "Are you completely sure?"

"If there is something my parents left me, then yes. I think it's worth the risk"

The Hokage soon smiled in that grandfatherly way of his, he leaned close and whispered with an undeniable touch of mirth to his voice. "Let's open it shall we?"

Naruto couldn't keep the smile from splitting his smile, and eager stood up alongside the Sandaime who placed the scroll on the floor.

"How do we do this?" He was nearly bouncing on his feet, he was just too excited!

"Smear some of your blood on the seal. That should open it"

A quick bite on his thumb cut the skin and allowed blood to flow freely. He knelt down and carefully placed his hand upon the scroll, pouring chakra into it as he cried out; " _Release_!"

And then… nothing happened.

"Huh…" Hiruzen huffed. "That was anti-climactic"

Naruto's shoulders sagged, apparently it didn't work. "Bummer…"

Then, the scroll exploded with a _huge_ release of chakra.

Furniture was turned over, books fell from their shelves, and the two occupants of the room were thrown back to the floor due to the violent shock-wave. Bright light illuminated the room.

"Woah!" Naruto cried out. "What's this?!" The light was too intense for him to see.

"I don't know!" Hiruzen shouted amidst the sudden chaos. "Stay close my boy!" He reached out to Naruto with the intent to shield him from whatever was happening.

The chakra in the air was so dense and intense any sensor within the vicinity must have felt it. No doubt the ANBU were already on their way. The chakra began to coalesce into human shape, the brightness of the room dimming as though the figure was drawing in all the light. Bones, organs, muscle, skin, nails, hair, and the chakra was becoming physical, giving form and life to something… or rather someone.

Then, as abruptly as it started, it was over.

Naruto and Hiruzen, still shielding their eyes, heard a dry 'THUD'. As if a heavy object had suddenly hit the floor. Slowly, they turned to see the result of such chaotic maelstrom of energy… and felt their souls leave their bodies at the sight before them.

Sprawled on the ground was a woman, bare of any clothing, but the fact that had her front to the floor and her long red locks were covering most of her figure hid any indecency. Her back rose and fell in quick succession, ragged breathes escaped her mouth as though she had trouble breathing. Shakily raising her head, violet eyes stared at the first person she could see.

A trembling hand tried to reach for him.

"Na…ruto…"

The hand fell to the ground as the woman passed out.

Naruto and Hiruzen were white, the color having drained from their faces. They had seen this woman before, though the circumstances were different. Hiruzen knew her for many, many years

Naruto had only seen her in dreams.

"…Mom?"

Hiruzen's eyes quivered. This wasn't possibly… This wasn't possible…

The ANBU burst into the office, no doubt drawn in by the burst of chakra. "Hokage-sama!" Neko was the first to speak, having already drawn her blade. "Are you alright?! What's the situa-?!"

The moment she saw the third figure in the room, her blade fell from her hands.

"Is that-?"

"No… No it can't be…"

The ANBU muttered among themselves.

Hiruzen fought hard to regain his composure. Analyze, prioritize, and react. Those were the words Tobirama-sensei had drilled into his head.

"Kushina…"

The woman before them was Kushina Uzumaki.

Alive.

Kushina was here, in front of him. ALIVE.

He quickly got to his feet. "Take her to the medical bay with utmost secrecy!" He ordered. "We don't know what we're dealing with here!"

The ANBU, being the elites they were, were quick to break out of their stupor and carry out his command. Neko was the first to move, placing her cloak around the redheaded woman while her comrades aided in moving her.

When she was taken out of the room, Hiruzen knelt before the broken pieces of the scroll. He took one look at the fragments of the array and gob smacked by the sheer complexity of them…

He recognized this work anywhere. There was no doubt in Hiruzen's mind what this scroll was, and WHO had made it.

Sharply turning to the young genin, he saw the poor boy was stunned beyond belief, frozen in place. He couldn't even move.

The Hokage gently grabbed his hands; blue eyes slowly looked at him. "Come with me, Naruto. I don't know what's going on… But I know you need to be present for it"

* * *

XxX ~ Forest of Death Tower Medical Facilities – Secure Location ~ XxX

* * *

An entire wing of the medical bay had been sealed off. ANBU stood guard, keeping a tight perimeter as the elite medics had been brought in to perform a full inspection upon the woman. Hiruzen hoped dearly that it was truly Kushina. He hoped that somehow she had survived that tragic night… but the ninja in him knew better than to have such expectations.

But the scroll in his hands, or rather the fragments of it...

He had sent an order to postpone the next stage of the exam under the excuse that they were currently conducting all their efforts into searching for Orochimaru, the snake sannin had caused plenty of casualties among the various shinobi from different villages, and struck terror into the genin who were fortunate enough to have seen him and lived to tell about it. Nobody would raise any question with a threat such as him running about. It wasn't an outright lie; he had plenty of ANBU searching the forest and the village for him. So for now, the prelims would be momentarily delayed. It served them that they were just a couple of days from now, with some fortune they wouldn't prolong too much.

A raccoon masked ANBU appeared next to him as though materializing from thin air. "We've opened her grave as you ordered my lord"

"And?"

"There was nothing there. But it was filled with dried blood"

Hiruzen's eyes widened in realization; "A blood clone… We buried a blood clone" Such type of clone was useful to fake a corpse, but only for a short time until they run out of chakra. It could also be solid enough to be wounded and not dispel like other clones, though it shared the weaknesses of a human body. It was the clone that had helped shield Naruto from the Kyuubi's claw.

He was already formulating a theory of what had happened that night. But they need to wait for Kushina to wake up first. Casting one eye at Naruto, he saw the young man was facing a myriad of emotions. The old Hokage couldn't blame him; this was just too much for the boy. He'd be in the same situation if his own late daughter or his wife suddenly returned out of nowhere. So all he could do now was keep the boy company as they both waited outside the room Kushina was being tended by the medics.

The young Jinchuuriki fought hard to keep his breathing even. His mother was here, his mother was _alive_. He could hardly believe it, part of him thought it was just a dream… but it felt too real. There was no way this was just a fantasy brought by his imagination.

He should feel happy, and he did really. But the chaotic nature of this situation and the stress it brought made it difficult to focus on positive thoughts. So instead he'd wait for his mother to see him, if he could just talk to her he'd know everything would be alright…

A burst of smoke appeared right next to him, and Naruto saw Kakashi looking more alarmed than he had ever seen him. There was a look in his eye the young genin had never seen before, desperation mixed in with hesitant hope.

"Hokage-sama, Naruto" He spoke with a strained voice. "Is it true?" No doubt Jiji had sent for him.

The Hokage sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "We're trying to confirm it, but… all evidence so far seems to point it is true. The person inside that room is indeed Kushina"

Kakashi's breath was caught in his throat. "Oh my gods…"

Naruto looked at his sensei, wanting to ask him-

A sudden crashing sound alerted everyone. It came from the room his mother was in.

A medic burst out of the door, a panic expression clear on his face as they caught glimpses of struggle behind him. "Hokage-sama, the patient is awake but she's attacking everyone!"

Hiruzen and Kakashi immediately tensed for action, their experience making them rationalize what was happening. Kushina had just woken up after a traumatic experience, giving birth to Naruto, the Kyuubi extracted from her, she was confused and running on adrenaline, which made her lash out against everything she perceived as a threat. That is to say everyone in her vicinity.

The Hokage and Jonin sprinted quickly towards the room, Naruto followed soon after but wasn't fast enough to arrive when they did. The two older shinobi saw Kushina, dressed in a medical gown, being restrained by several ANBU.

Well, the ANBU were _trying_ to restrain her rather. Someone of Kushina's strength running high on adrenaline was as easy to restrain as a bear. A mother bear looking for her cub most likely.

"Kushina-dono you need to calm down!" One ANBU, one that spoke with a certain familiarity with her tried to calm her. He stood behind her; his arms were under her armpits as the sneaked their way behind her head in a hold.

Neko was holding her left arm; "Sensei! It's us, you're in Konoha!"

But Kushina would not listen, her wild eyes caught size of a medic approaching her with a needle, an upward kick snatched the object from his hands and a strong tug on her part release her arm from an ANBU's hold, the grabbed the needle from midair and stabbed at the ANBU behind her right on the thigh, injecting into him whatever sedative they were going to give her.

The effect was swift; he lost his strength and stumbled back, releasing the Uzumaki. Kushina let go of the needle and lashed out with her arm at the ANBU on her right, the blow was strong enough to send him stumbling to the floor. She then quickly took hold of Neko's arms; kicking her feet and making her lose her balance. She was lifted from the ground as Kushina threw her over her shoulder in a throw; her body collided painfully against the floor.

Naruto was honestly frightened at the ferocity displayed by his mother. He started to understand what Shikamaru was always complaining so much about…

Kakashi was in the middle of pulling up his headband to reveal his Sharingan, but in a burst of movement that even he had trouble keeping up with; the Sandaime had cleared the distance between them and Kushina.

He quickly grabbed her arm and twisted it, forcing her to her knees. She cried out violently in defiance even as he pressed his palm against her head.

" _ **CALM. DOWN.**_ " The words felt unnatural, a tinge of chakra filled the air around him. It was soon clear to Naruto and Kakashi what he did; A genjutsu, one that was apparently calming the nerves of the redheaded woman.

Her ragged breathing began stabilizing, her pupils dilated and constricted before settling into a regular size. Kushina's rage filled expression slowly morphed into a stunned one, her thoughts slowed down, allowing her to better perceive her surroundings and identify who these people were.

"…Old man?" She whispered.

"It's alright" Hiruzen softly replied, slowly letting go of her arm. "You're safe"

She breathed deeply, calming herself as she remained knelt on the ground. "Safe? I'm… Where is… Where is my baby?"

Hiruzen did not reply; he merely turned his gaze towards Naruto who stood by the door. Kushina followed it and chocked on a breath as he saw the young boy. Naruto gulped, feeling an overwhelming nervousness wrecking inside him.

"…Naruto?" The older Uzumaki muttered. "No… No you can't be him. He's just… He's just a baby"

The boy remained frozen in the spot; it took a soft push by Kakashi to motivate him into moving. He slowly approached his… his mother until they were face to face.

"It's… you. It really is you" Her eyes quivered. "How long has it been…?"

Hiruzen answered her. "You've been gone for twelve years"

A sob escaped her lips. "Twelve… Twelve years?!" Tears fell down her cheeks. "Oh Minato, I'm sorry" She looked at her son with great regret. "I'm so sorry!"

Naruto wasn't sure he understood what she apologizing for, but he didn't care, the moment his mother placed her arms around him nothing mattered anymore. He merely hugged her back, eyes leaking tears as they took comfort in each other, finally reunited after so long. Feeling his mother's embrace… it was the most wonderful feeling he had ever experienced.

* * *

XxX ~ XxX ~ XxX

* * *

He didn't know how much time it passed when they embraced, but eventually they both let go and Kushina was guided towards the bed, where she now rested. They had a lot of questions after all, and now that she was in her right mind she could perhaps provide the answers.

But first, they needed to ease her into her current situation.

"Oh my gods" Kushina groaned out into her hands. "Twelve years… Has it really been twelve years? Scratch that" She sighed as she looked at the occupants in her room, Yugao, Kakashi, Hiruzen, and most of all, her son. "Looking at you guys it's obvious time passed, I just… I never thought I'd be in that scroll for so long"

"Are you okay?" Naruto asked with concern.

Kushina smiled warmly at him, placing a hand atop his head. "I'll be fine; I just need a moment to take it all in. Oh jeez, it feels like I time-traveled…"

"Sensei" It now just dawned on Naruto that Neko, now bereft of her mask, was calling his own mother 'sensei'. But that wasn't important right now. "How did you survive?"

Kushina rubbed her neck in a manner Naruto himself often did; "I took a big gamble"

"Hmph, I'd say" Hiruzen replied. He pulled out the broken scrolls pieces from his robes. "You used this, didn't you?"

The Uzumaki hissed as she saw the remains. "Yikes, it really was a one-time use thing"

"What's that?" Naruto curiously asked as he looked at the scroll fragments.

"I share his confusion" Kakashi added. "I've never seen a scroll like this in my life"

It was not Kushina that answered them, but Hiruzen, proving why he was called 'The Professor'. "The **Tenrai Suimin** "

"'Divine Sleep'?" Yugao repeated in confusion as her eyes narrowed.

"One of the biggest works done by a member of my clan" Kushina clarified. "Tsukiko Uzumaki"

"Who?" Naruto frowned.

Kushina snorted; "Only the biggest badass woman that's ever lived. Master of seals so great they actually called her the 'Goddess of Fūinjutsu'. This was gonna be one of her biggest works, a scroll that could save someone from the brink of death"

"Amazing" Kakashi was sincerely awed. "How does it the work? The sheer complexity of it…"

"Supposedly it stores the user inside and reforms the body to the point of optimal health, erasing diseases and healing wounds. No matter how grave" Kushina paused. "At least, that's what Tsukiko-baachan intended. She said the thing was incomplete and she never had the chance to test it on a person. Not to mention the chakra requirement for thing is _ungodly_ , she spent years gathering chakra to power it. And it's still incomplete; she deemed it a failure and gave it to me with the explicit instructions of only using it when I have no other choice"

"I must agree with Tsukiko-dono" The Hokage said as he inspected one of the broken pieces. "No timer-release mechanism, nothing to prompt its release once the user is healed. The already highly complex array doesn't leave room to implement something anything like that. You could have been trapped inside of it for eternity" He sighed. "You were damn lucky, girl. Your vague instructions didn't help"

"Oh I'm so sooooorry" The sarcasm in her voice was palatable. "I would have been clearer about it, but you know, I just had _pushed another human out of me and had a fucking Biju ripped out from my very being_ … You'll forgive me if I wasn't in my right mind at the time"

The four sweatdropped. Well they couldn't deny the circumstances weren't favorable for one to act rationally.

" **Annnnnd she's back** " Naruto blinked as the fox drawled inside his mind. " **At least I'm not riddled with spikes inside of her again. And I don't have to deal with her anymore. So that's a positive… as far as positive my current situation can be** "

"Hey, you tried to kill me. You don't really have the moral high ground here" The young genin irritably shot back out loud, much to the confusion of the others.

Kushina understood what was going on, and it brought a sense of shame and regret. She pushed it down for the moment. "Talking to the fox?" Naruto nodded. "Yeah, he's an ass… Hey fox!" She glared, as though she was actually glaring at the Biju. "Still alive, bitch! I win!"

Hiruzen sighed while Kakashi awkwardly chuckled. It was almost like Kushina never left… Truly, the fates were kind sometimes.

"Kushina" The Hokage called for her attention. "We don't know all the effects of the Divine Sleep seal, or even if your body has been properly reformed, so I advise" He stressed the word, clearly meaning that by advice he meant order; "That you remain in bed until the doctors give the all clear"

Kushina groaned loudly as she fell back unto the bed. "Oh give me a break I already went through so much shit today... Well, not 'today' but you know what I mean… Ugh, I'm fine!"

Hiruzen gave her the most deadpanning look possible; "The doctors say your heart is now on the right…"

"…Oh" She placed her hand on her chest to verify, and yep there it was. On the right. Huh.

"I'll need to ask you some questions" His gaze softened considerably. "I know this is too soon but we need to understand what happened that night"

Her hand tightened into a fist, shaking violently at the memory of an orange mask. She led out a shuddering breath. "Yeah… I'll tell you everything"

Naruto worried immensely for his mother, her words were just filled with so much… anger and sadness.

He placed a hand on the bed, not really sure of what to do at the moment, part of him felt nervous about making physical contact with her again. Afraid he'd mess it up just because he was too dumb to understand a social cue or something.

Kushina's hand lowered and grasped her son's so tightly. Hiruzen, Yugao, and Kakashi silently excused themselves, giving them their space.

"…You were so small" She said softly. "And now… Now my baby has grown up and I missed it. I choose to use that scroll because I couldn't bear the thought of you being all alone. I… I cheated death and let Minato die all because I was selfish and rash, and wasn't thinking straight and…" She choked on a breath. "And I still left you because I didn't do things right, burdened you with being a Jinchuuriki!"

"Mom…" He didn't get how anything she could do was selfish. "You guys saved me. I'm here because you loved me. That's why I'm here today, happy and healthy"

She paused for a moment; "You're happy?"

He smiled at her so brilliantly; "You're here, how couldn't I be?!"

The older Uzumaki looked at him with a stunned expression, after her own failures as a mother she didn't think possible for her son to smile at her like that, to be so thankful for the few things she did for him.

Naruto stilled as he suddenly found himself encircled by his mother's arms once more, she wept as she held him.

"Thank you! Thank you for being our son..!"

The young boy soon found himself shedding tears as well, his arms returning the hug just as strongly.

"I love you"

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

 _Lots of you will call foul at bringing Kushina back out of nowhere, but honestly we don't care. Those who enjoyed it, hope we can deliver more in the future_


	18. Family Ties

**Disclaimer** : We do not own Naruto

 **Co-author & Beta**: Etheral-23

 **Chapter 18: Family ties**

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

The beams of the moonlit shined from the heavens above over Konoha. Idly Kushina gazed out her window taking the sight of the forest of death. Her eyes soon returned to the sleeping form of her son lying on her bed with his head on her lap. She took in every detail of Naruto as she watched his chest rise and fall.

It was a bit hard to be, this was her son, _her son_ , hers and Minato's.

Her hand rested in her son's spiky golden locks, her heart ached. Twelve years... Years she could never get back, but now was not the time for moping, she shook it off turning her sights to Hiruzen; "How was it everyone learned about my son's Jinchuuriki status while mine was so well hidden?"

"I have no answers for you my dear; I found no leads on how Naruto's status was learned by the masses."

Kushina looked over to her former student; "The ANBU looked into everything, Commander Fox himself headed the investigation but we couldn't find any evidence," Yugao lightly huffed. "Whoever leaked it made certain they were never found."

"Which means whoever did it is really good in this line of work to have been able to get away with it" Kushina reasoned, and let out a sigh. She had been spared of her status as Jinchuuriki becoming public knowledge so she would not have to go through the ordeal of the civilians treating her any differently because of it, and so the rival villages would not target her.

Barring the episode of Kumo kidnapping her, whom she deduced only had guesses and leads to her being the Jinchuuriki based on her lineage rather than any solid evidence, her secret had been revealed to only a few officials of the village and people she could trust with this kind of information.

For Naruto to have been exposed like that since birth... She had no idea how it must have been like, part of her didn't even want to know. But this growing side of her that was becoming alarmingly stronger by the minute, her motherly side, needed to know.

"How bad was it?" She softly asked, never taking her eyes away from her son. Her son... the thought felt so strange yet wonderful.

Kakashi's gaze avoided her, as though ashamed. Yugao closed her eyes somberly while the wizened Kage sighed. It was the village leader that answered her. "He was... alone. For a long time"

It felt like a kunai was lodged in her heart as Kushina bit her lip, "I ensured nothing extreme like abuse ever happened like some Jinchuuriki save yourself was treated. At best his treatment by the village was with a mild neglect."

Outcast, pariah, and a few the kinder words used for a Jinchuuriki in most villages. The Uzu matriarch shook her head, "But Mikoto, Hisahi, Inoichi, and Tsume-"

"You know clan politics Kushina-sama," Kakashi responded back quietly, "Involving a Jinchurriki into the household? That made things extremely complicated"

The redhead growled before huffing in annoyance. Of course she knew; taking in a Jinchuuriki was essentially being given an edge over the other clans. This upsets the balance of power between them. As much as she did not want to admit it, her friend's hands were tied. So they couldn't do anything for Naruto, "Did they know at least?"

"They knew Naruto was your son," Hiruzen nodded. "But knowing only made it more frustrating for them. I can't count how many times Tsume was swearing and shouting in my office."

A snort came from Kushina; "Hasn't lost her temper has she?" Glancing to her side she noticed how quiet Kakashi was being; "You okay?"

"...I wasn't there for him" He finally said with guilt.

"Sempai" Yugao tried to intervene.

But the Hatake continued on; "I actually went out of my way to avoid him" His voice was filled with shame and self-loathing. "He was all alone and I could have..."

Spent time with him. Invite him to eat ramen. Teach him from an early age how to be a ninja, how to deal with this unforgiving life. But he didn't, he just watched the boy from a distance, even when he could clearly see the loneliness in his downcast expression.

He had been so afraid, afraid of becoming close to Naruto and have him share the same fate all his loved ones did...

Even now as he sensei he still hadn't make things right, as watched the boy grow up with the best aspects of his parents, Minato's sheer dedication and drive, Kushina's overwhelming kindness and cheerfulness, he did not have the guts to tell the boy the truth. To apologize for having failed him.

He closed his eye. "Forgive me, Kushina-sama. I dishonored Minato-sensei's memory as well as yours"

For a moment the room fell into silence, which was only broken by Kushina's sigh. "Carrying all that guilt on you, there's something I'm not happy to see it hasn't changed..." She looked at him even as he refused to meet her eyes. "When Obito and Rin died, I saw as you nearly lost yourself to despair. I don't even want to imagine the kind of mess you were with me and Minato gone..."

Hiruzen grunted but held his tongue. The word 'mess' did not even began to cover it.

"You actually think I'd accuse you or berate you when you obviously must have been on a terrible, terrible place at the time?"

The Jounin still would not look at her; "Kakashi Hatake look at me." Obeying Kakashi's one eye turned and gazed into Kushina's warm understanding Violet orbs; "I will never berate you for a damn thing. Except holding onto that damn guilt."

Kakashi felt lighter... If only just a little as Kushina motioned for him to get closer. Doing so he was brought into a hug by the redhead. "Still a stubborn brat," She whispered.

A few stray tears fell from the Jounin's eye as both Yugao and Hiruzen smiled; "Get some rest, all of you. We will talk in the morning," the Sandaime ordered.

* * *

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

* * *

Naruto grumbled as the sunlight hit his eyes; _'Why does that damn sun always come on me in the mornings,'_ yeah the blond was never much of a morning person. Groggy the blond sat up as he stretched and then rubbed his eyes. Blinking a few times his vision adjusted seeing Kakashi-sensei and an ANBU woman sleeping in two chairs?

He noticed his surroundings, why was he in a medical room? Then his brain finally jump started as he turned seeing the resting form of his mother. _'It...It wasn't a dream...'_ He felt a few tears come from his eyes before rubbing them away. _'My mom's alive...'_

Kushina soon groaned as the morning sun landed onto her face; "Can someone blow up the damn sun dattebane..." she muttered as she pulled the blanket over her face.

"Mom" He tried softly tapping her shoulder. "Come on, wake up"

The figure under the blankets suddenly grew very still. Slowly, like a frightened animal, her eyes peaked above the end of the blanket. Two violet orbs looked as his blue ones with apprehension.

She stared at him like that for a moment that was becoming increasingly awkward.

"Oh, right... I have a twelve year old son" She said, her voice slightly breathy. Most of her face remained hidden behind the blanket while her eyes bore into him, wide and unblinking.

"Um, you okay?"

"Me? Yeaaah, yeah. Just... freaking out a little bit. It'll pass"

Naruto sweatdrops as the door opens stirring both Kakashi and Yugao as the Hokage walks in smoking his pipe. "Kuma is bringing some breakfast for everyone," he sweatdrops seeing only half of Kushina's face peeking out from under her blanket.

Soon blinking, Kushina sat up lowering her blanket; "Kuma's still around huh"

"He was the poor bastard you sent to dream land with the sedatives yesterday," Kakashi dryly spoke up.

The redhead winced; "Oh... I'll apologize when he gets here."

The silver haired Jounin waved it off before looking over to a stretching Yugao sweat-dropping; "You slept with your mask on?" The female ANBU weakly chuckled.

Kushina rolled eyes as Hiruzen sighed; "You have permission to remove your mask Neko. Naruto I know won't say anything."

The said blonde lightly blushed seeing the cute round face of Neko with her warm brown eyes looking at him with a smile from her ruby red lips. "My name is Yugao Uzuki. Your mother's only student." The purple haired woman stood walking over to her sensei and sensei's son.

Naruto slowly blinked at her in confusion. "Okay. Couple of questions here; you have a student and not a genin team?"

"Eh sometimes happens" His mother shrugged. "Odd number of graduates. Jonin putting their name and reputation on the line and taking on a single apprentice. Or a student is handpicked to be trained for a specific role. They're various reasons as to why they don't get teams"

The Hokage supplied. "For example, Lee was under Gai's mentor-ship until he was assigned a team"

"Oh Gai got a student?" Kushina's smile broke into a wide grin. "I so want to see what kind of tough kid can put up with that attitude"

Kakashi, Naruto, Yugao and Hiruzen paled considerably. "Um, yeah" The ANBU in the room started nervously. "That is... T-The point is, I was considered a bit more advanced during my evaluations and so Kushina-sensei decided to take me under her wing"

Kushina snorts; "A little advanced? Yu-chan here was my little prodigy!"

Yugao 'eeped' being hugged by her teacher who rubbed her cheek against hers; "I never saw anyone take to kenjutsu so well that wasn't an Uzumaki!"

"Sensei," the purple haired woman groaned blushing while glaring over at a chuckling Kakashi "Keep laughing sempai, I will get back at you."

"Ma. Ma, like the several dozen other times you and the others tried before?" The Jounin eye-smiled. "Besides, you're used to Kushina-Sama's antics as much as I am."

It just dawn on Naruto how familiar Kakashi was with his mother; "Uh how do you know my mom Kakashi-sensei?"

The room became quiet and still. There was no ignoring the question, no brushing it off as he would usually do; at this point it was either the truth or the truth. There was no backing away from it.

"Your father was my sensei"

Either Naruto took the news in stride, or the recent events had dulled him greatly, for his face remained impassive and nearly expressionless, if not for the slight twitch of his cheek that Kakashi could see.

"Ah" Was his reply.

Kakashi saw the fist coming from a mile away, he could have dodged easily or held his fist back, but he chose to receive it, he deserved it after all. It didn't hurt that much slamming into his jaw, only a slight annoyance compared to the things he had endured in his long career, but as long as Naruto had some vindication and quelled his anger then that was what mattered.

The blonde grunted as he pulled his fist back, quietly shaking it. That had hurt more to him than it surely did to Kakashi. "Thanks for telling me..." He said in sarcasm laced with anger.

"Naruto Uzumaki!" Kushina yelled before Kakashi rose up his hand.

The Jounin rubbed his jaw; "No I deserved that. Naruto asked me months ago in Nami about Minato-Sensei, but I chickened out in telling him the truth. I offer no excuses to you Naruto, I should have been in your life since you were little, but I wasn't. After losing my father, my teammates, Sensei, and Kushina-Sama I was just too afraid to get close to you. For that I am sorry."

For a long minute after the blond had calmed down with a deep breathe. He looks blankly to the ground; "You're here now. That's what counts."

"Hai."

Hiruzen breathed out some smoke; "Naruto," the blond lifted his head; "Why don't you show your mother your 'gift?'" He said, attempting to lift the mood in the room.

Kushina blinked as her son's face brightened turning to his mother, "I nearly forgot. I have a Kekkai Genkai!" The redhead gawked as a crystal kunai formed in his hand. "It's called Shoton, isn't it cool dattebayo!"

"Achkupsf!" His mother made a hilarious choking sound as she shook her head and rubbed her eyes. "Where in Amaterasu's shining ass did you get that?! I sure as hell don't have that Kekkei Genkai, nor any close relatives of mine! Minato didn't say anything about his line having it either..."

"I dunno" Naruto shrugged. "I just... awoke it one day when I was in danger" He hadn't pondered much on how he came to develop this element to be honest.

"A recessive bloodline that skips generations perhaps?" Hiruzen suggest with a gesture of his hand. "It is not uncommon for that to happen sometimes, there are instances in which bloodline traits may manifest at random in people. Your adamantine chains are one such example Kushina"

"Wait what?" The blonde had to do a double take at that, he look at his mother with a wide grin. "You have a Kekkei Genkai too mom? That's so cool!"

Scratching the back of her head, Kushina lightly grunted; "Well, Tsukiko-Baachan said our chains were mostly found in the main house, but there were exceptions. And mostly woke in the females, with a few males in between."

Lifting her right hand, a chain phased through her palm, going down part way. "This chain can hold down even a Biju. I can use it in both offensive and defensive. But Baachan never said anything about Shoton." Retracing her chain, she takes the crystal kunai inspecting it. The detailing was beyond remarkable.

The Hokage rubbed his chin; "At any rate I had Jiraiya training the lad when not on one of his missions."

"The old perv is still breathing," Kushina smirked; "and still our spy master." Not that she was surprised; he was back when Minato was Hokage. And it was what he was best at. "Speaking of the perv, where is he?"

"On assignment, he should be back by today."

Kushina absently nodded as her gaze shifted in thought, she bit her lower lip and then asked. "And mom?"

The occupants in the room save the genin stiffened at the question, exchanging nervous looks as they tried to come up with the most suitable way to tell her that would not result in the redhead bursting in rage.

"She um" The Hokage began slowly. "Hasn't returned"

Kushina's violet eyes close shut, her grip on the sheets tightening until her knuckles were white. Her chest rose as she took a long intake of air, indicating she was trying to reign in the anger that was coursing through her.

After a few seconds, Kushina let all that air out, as though her anger was slowly seeping through as well. "Yeah... Yeah of course she hasn't. Why would she?"

"Um," everyone looked to Naruto who looked at his mother with, understandably, a perplexed gaze; "your mom?"

"Adoptive mother" The Hokage supplied. "Tsunade Senju"

…Ok, what the fuck?

Ugh, too much emotions and too many revelations lately, he couldn't deal with this right now. So he'd put it in the back of his head for later, because oh boy, he knew this was going to come up later…

* * *

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

* * *

Sakura stretched after a long shower and changed of clothes. She was grateful their room had one. She walked towards the beds while Sasuke looked out the window. The rosette sighed as she sat down; "Hope Naruto is alright." He didn't come to their room last night, but he was with the Hokage, so he had to be okay. That's what she told herself.

"Hm," Sasuke grunted as he kept his gaze out to the forest.

It was odd in a way, being alone with Sasuke after everything that happened; she liked to think she was no longer the same fangirl that would chase him around during their academy days. Looking back at it, it all had been so... childish. The academy did not prepare her for what a true shinobi life would be like. Oh that was their sensei's job, but even then Sakura felt she had been ill-prepared to deal with the world out there.

Bandits. Mercenaries. Enemy ninja. Honest to the gods' psychopaths. By all intents and purposes she should have died, after all, civilian born ninjas rarely meet a fate that goes beyond 'cannon fodder'. But here she was, taking on the next trial to ascend through the village's ranks, and serve as a more effective soldier.

Huh... Soldier. Yes, that's what she was. That's what they all were. She had joined the academy with no clear goal in mind; just juvenile thoughts driving her, the excitement and adventure that a ninja's life promised that inspired their young fantasies.

But the truth was much darker than she ever thought. On that day when she first left the village walls and came home with a new outlook on the world, seeing it for what it truly was.

What did that mean to Sakura? She still wasn't sure, but for now she'd move forward, respecting and honoring the path many have trailed long before her, as a shinobi of Konoha.

And the person she owed it all that got her acting like a serious kunoichi was Naruto… Perhaps she needed to express it, not just to him, but to the other teammate in front of her, having put up with her all this time. "Sorry for being so annoying back during the academy and after."

The Uchiha turned fully wide eyed before regaining his normal composure; "It's fine." Well that came out of nowhere, but he had to admit she had improved quite a lot since Nami no Kuni. She definitely looked a lot healthier, and by the tone he could see in her arms he could tell she had been training seriously.

Granted she annoyingly still asked for dates, but that has lessened to a bearable degree... Now if Ino could take notes that be a blessing. "You've been training with Naruto?"

Blinking her emerald eyes in shock, Sakura slowly nodded. Sasuke was actually talking back? "Y-Yeah. Ever since Nami. We've been doing whatever we can to improve. We even been learning the same Taijutsu Naruto found in the library."

The sparring sessions were fun. Though Naruto started paling when the rosette started working on her strength. "I really need to step up so I can help you guys. And Naruto wants to show everyone he not the dead-last anymore."

And he really wasn't, if Sasuke was honest to himself.

Then again, Naruto wasn't the only one he had to reevaluate his opinion of.

He thought back on how Sakura protected him by herself, risking her life for him, as was proper of a comrade. He couldn't remember last time she had tried to ask him out. Perhaps she was finally growing as shinobi, a valuable comrade in arms he could rely on. She and Naruto.

Sasuke wasn't used to relying on people. He thought that perhaps he'd never do, not since...

Hmm... Perhaps he too was growing a bit.

* * *

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

* * *

Jiraiya hadn't been much aware of his surroundings, a mistake that could cost any ninja his life. But right now his mind was concerned with other matters. He had been recalled quickly, what he had been informed about at the village gate by Iguru... He could scarcely believe it. It had to be true but he just didn't dare hope...

The forest became a fast blur, he barely even realized he had entered the building and the ANBUs escorted him through the warded off area of the medical section. His heart pounded inside his chest as he approached the doors leading to the room, he could hear faint voices behind it, barely strong enough for him to recognize.

Facing Hanzo, or any of the most dangerous opponents he had fought in his life, didn't even make his hands sweat as much as this moment could.

He controlled his shaking as he grasped the door knob and opened it walking through the threshold.

His breath got caught in his throat as he saw what lay inside the room.

The same red hair, those same violet eyes turned to him with the same brightness he remembered.

The same smile. "Hey"

Jiraiya stood frozen at the door.

"I know this must be a lot to take in for you, it's still a bit of a haze to me to be honest"

...

"Feels like I just saw you the other day but... It wasn't the same for you, for any of you as I understand"

...

"Well..." Kushina's gaze shifted awkwardly. "Are you going to stand there or are you going to say some-"

Her words died off as he crossed the room in an instant and tightly embraced her, eyes shut tight as his voice managed to brokenly strain out; "Don't ever scare me like that again, girl..."

Both Hiruzen and Kushina blinked, Jiraiya seldom if ever acted with such emotion behind his actions in such a manner. The fact he was actually embracing the redhead spoke how emotional the man was at present. Soon a small smile came from the Uzu woman who hugged the man back; "I promise, you old pervert."

Letting go, albeit slowly, Jiraiya turned to his old sensei; "How?"

"Luck along with a seal made by the goddess of Fūinjutsu herself." The elder Kage blew out some smoke from his pipe.

That was all the Gama Sannin needed to hear as he smiled; "How do you feel?" he looked back to the redhead.

Kushina deadpanned at her late husband's sensei; "Oh let me think here for a minute. The last thing I recall was giving birth, some lunatic in a mask appearing out of thin air and threaten my baby with a kunai a minute after he was just born, get the Kyuubi ripped out of my soul and go on a rampage in the village. Then waking up to find TWELVE YEARS have gone by while I was inside Tsukiko-Baachan's seal!" the redhead huffed as she glared; "How was your day?" Kakashi and Yugao sweatdrop at the thick level of sarcasm that came from the redhead.

"Okay stupid question," Jiraiya drawls before looking around the room; "Where's Naruto?"

"I had him go back to his team to bring them here," Hiruzen spoke up. "Along with getting a shower and some new clothes to wear."

Kakashi weakly chuckled; "I don't think Naruto, in his current frame of mind, will even remember to do the last two Hokage-Sama."

If you just saw your dead mother come back to life would you be acting rationally? "...Fair point," Hiruzen sweatdrops.

The Toad Sage thought on his teacher's word. "You okay with letting the two brats in on this?" He doubted they, the Hokage and those in the know, had a proper way to deal with this situation. How to properly let it become know that Kushina was back.

"Naruto insisted, besides I'm sure they can keep this a secret for a time"

"Besides" Kushina smiled brightly. "I wanna see them myself, hehe, Mi-Chan's littlest boy in the same team as my own boy. Knew they'd become friends one day"

Kakashi softly stiffened upon the mention of her friend, Yugao couldn't even muster a proper response. Hiruzen and Jiraiya exchanged worried gazes, the meaning was clear, Kushina had to be informed. Especially if she was to meet Sasuke.

The Sannin leaned closer to whisper to the Kage. "Should we tell her?"

"We must, she was her friend and-" He whispered back, pausing momentarily. "I know she's been through a lot already, but better now than her finding out from Sasuke"

"What about 'you know what?'"

"...That too I'm afraid. She deserves to know about Itachi"

"And these two?" Jiraiya's eyes darted to the other two occupants in the room.

The Hokage deliberated for a moment. "We can trust them to keep this secret"

"Heeey" Kushina looked at them with a raised eyebrow. "What are you two whispering about?"

* * *

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

* * *

Sakura and Sasuke lightly jump as Naruto bursted into the room. "Naruto are you okay?" the rosette sat up from her bed.

Waving it off the blond smiled, and spoke so quickly his words were barely understandable; "I'm fine!Hellbetterthanfine!Youguyshavetocomewithme,thereissomeoneyouneedtomeet!" His teammates just blinked at him, "What?"

The Uchiha gave a proper dry retort; "How about not speaking at a speed only squirrels can understand."

Naruto glared before shaking his head; "I want you guys to meet someone."

"Who?" Sakura tilted her head.

"It's a surprise!"

Seeing they did not have anything else to do Sasuke shrugged; "Alright, lead the way dobe."

"Before that though," the boys looked to their female teammate who cutely crinkled her nose; "could you guys least get a shower and fresh clothes on? You both reek."

Naruto and Sasuke deadpan; "Seriously?" both drone. However both boys froze as they swore Sakura's eyes glowed as her hair moved on its own as she somehow now towered over both of them. Naruto absently thought he saw Kurama's chakra coming off her.

"WE WERE STUCK IN A FOREST FOR TWO DAYS! IT'S CALLED BASIC HYGIENE! USE IT SHENNARO!"

"YES MA'AM!"

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

 _And that's a wrap, honestly this chapter feels like a stepping stone for the next chapter, we know. Hope you people can at least enjoy it a bit. And if you expecting some bashing on Jiraiya and Kakashi... To damn bad.  
_


	19. The prelims roll in

**Disclaimer** : We do not own Naruto

 **Co-author and beta** : Etheral-23

 **Chapter 19: Prelims Act 0 'The prelims roll in'**

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

"So the exam won't re-start till the after the following two days." Samui's words more of a statement than question as she stood by the open door of her team's room with Konoha ANBU standing at the threshold. Inside said room Yugito, Karui, and Omoi absently listened while cleaning their gear.

The ANBU wearing a raccoon mask nodded; "On account of the events in the forest your team was caught up in, we felt best to hold the exam until all variables were tended to." Make sure a certain snake was not around causing more trouble than he has already.

The buxom teenage blond nodded; "Understood Rakūn-san, thank you for keeping us in the loop."

Giving a small bow the ANBU vanished via shunshin. The sole chunin in the room sat down in a chair looking towards her fellow blond; "We have to inform the Raikage about… _that_." the late teen said obviously referring to Naruto Uzumaki's status as Jinchurriki and parentage.

How exactly their Raikage will take it is unknown, but at the very least they know it won't be like the Sandaime Tsuchikage's warpath if he ever learns of it.

"I know, I know," the Nibi Jinchuuriki sighed; "A-sama will likely shout so loud glass will shatter and break his desk… again. If anything he'll just want to keep tabs on Naruto. See how much of a threat he is or could possibly become."

Yugito really did not like speaking about someone she came to respect. But given her village's militaristic nature and colored past with Konoha, A-sama would want every detail on the son of the man he considered a rival.

' _If worse comes to worse and Raikage-Sama orders to kill Naruto…'_ Yugito's thoughts strayed; ' _I really don't want to fight a fellow jinchuuriki.'_ Especially one that's she was growing fond of, might even call friend…

But orders were orders.

Matatabi shook her head; **"Let's hope it never comes to that kitten."**

* * *

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

* * *

Kushina's eyes were wide as she sat as still as a statue on the bed. At her side Kakashi and Yugao weren't faring much better as they felt a knot pull in their stomachs, shock was etched on their faces. Jiraiya said nothing as he glared out the window, Hiruzen exhaled a long breathe as he lowered his hat. There, he did it; he had just revealed the awful and horrifying truth of the Uchiha massacre.

The silence was so strong one could hear a pin drop from a mile away. And when it was finally broken, the next words felt like rumbling thunder in the quite room.

"Oh my gods" Yugao whispered. Horrified did not even began to explain how she felt.

Kakashi let out a strangled noise as his breathing became very loud. Images flashed across his mind in quick succession, that of a young and very promising shinobi who joined the ANBU at a very tender age for their line of work. Pieces felt into place, forming a clear picture where once there were only inconsistencies and little reason behind the terrible events of that night.

There was always something that didn't fit. Itachi's actions had been very out of place, and the situation at the time, the discomfort the Uchiha felt before the suspicions of the Kyuubi attack. The elements of the clan that were distancing more and more from the village.

A coup. Heavens have mercy; the Uchiha had been planning a coup.

And Itachi, who remained loyal to village, took on an impossible task and shouldered the sins of his clan behind a veil of lies and blood.

Kakashi turned to look at Kushina; he could barely see her eyes as her head was now bowed forward, shadowing them. Her body began trembling, teeth gnashed together as they held back a wail of despair she would not let out. Bitter tears streamed down her face as she violently shook.

Images flashed in mind; when she first met Mikoto in the academy, becoming friends and teammates in the same squad under Sakumo-sensei. Mikoto's smile when she became pregnant with her first son Itachi. Seeing him a day after he was born. The shy little boy that always called her aunt Kushina.

Blood dripped from the redhead's from biting her lip so hard before she let out a scream full of pain and sorrow. Her hand hands covered her face as she muffled the screaming. _'DAMN YOU FUGAKU! DAMN YOU AND THOSE FUCKING ELDERS TO THE FURTHEST DEPTHS OF HELL!'_ Her mind roared with pure hate and venom. Yugao kept close to her teacher, trying to provide as little comfort as she could

"Why wasn't I told at the time?" Kakashi felt a tinge of calm fury in his tone as he glared hard at the Hokage. After all the years as one of the village's most loyal and best operatives, his position in the ANBU back then, he felt he should have been informed. Now more than ever that Sasuke was his responsibility as part of his squad.

"Because Itachi had requested it to me as such. He made the choice the bear the hate of the village to hide the treachery of his clan. So his brother would be spared from being outcast. Had I told you would things had been any different?" Hiruzen responded in a steely tone glaring back.

"Mikoto-sama would never have been a part of that," Yugao countered with resolution in her voice.

Jiraiya let out a sigh; "She put on a better front than I thought." The old Sannin glanced to the ANBU woman; "Mikoto was suffering from strong bouts of depression, due to a certain event that fucked up the lives of the people within this room. She put on a brave face in front of her kids, and Naruto when visiting him or outside the Uchiha compound. But I and sensei could tell she was in pain."

Mikoto had been one of the strongest shinobi they knew, but she had always been subservient to her clan. Educated from a young age to remain loyal. After that tragic night, there was little that tied her to the village. She must have just gone along with it, seeing no other choice for her because that was the will of the clan.

Kushina held her hand close to her chest, trying to hold pack the tidal wave of pain coming from it. Mikoto always deserved better than what she got, but in the end the chains of her clan bound her throughout her entire life.

"I tried to resolve things peacefully but they escalated too fast. I've fought alongside many Uchiha" Hiruzen said mournfully. "I know for a fact they were people of courage and determination, valuable members of this village. But... they are not the most stable people mentally when faced with trauma. They awakening of their Sharingan and its stages only makes it worse; it releases chemicals on the brain that affect their behavior and thought process. They are prone to paranoia and in worst cases psychosis"

Jiraiya put his hands on Kushina's shaking shoulders, trying to comfort her. "I'm sorry Kushina, we should have tried harder. What happened to the Uchiha, to Mikoto, Itachi and Sasuke, that's our failure"

Kushina raised her head; "The only failure is Fugaku and those elders," she seethed with absolute rage in her voice. She never like Fugaku or the Uchiha clan elders as long as she could remember. The only good things that rat-bastard husband of Mi-Chan ever did was give her friend two sons. Those were the _only_ things she would ever acknowledge as a positive.

The redhead slowly attempted to calm herself as she barely steadied her breathing. Her rage turning into numbness as she gazed at nowhere in particular. "Where is Itachi?"

"Working as a double agent for me, he infiltrated an organization that's been on the rise for some time now," Hiruzen blew out some smoke from his newly lit pipe. He needed the smoke to calm his nerves.

"...And Sasuke?"

"He doesn't know the truth, as far as he knows Itachi went crazy and killed everyone in the Uchiha," Jiraiya bluntly stated.

The rage returned in full. "That's bullshit!" Kushina screamed at the Gama Sannin.

"Should we tell him that his entire clan wanted to take over the village and would have caused the lives of innocent people?!" Jiraiya yelled back.

"So making his entire life a lie is better?!"

"Enough!" Having had enough, the Hokage ordered them to calm down. "Both of you, this is not helping. Kushina" He turned his gaze to the Uzumaki. "I need you to keep this secret"

"Like hell I will!" Protocol, orders, long years of ANBU training and experience with cover ups left her mind. She couldn't tolerate this atrocity.

Hiruzen rubbed his eyes, fighting back the growing headache. "Kushina, Sasuke is not... well" It was a dirty tactic, but he knew Kushina would relent if he brought up Mikoto's son. "I've seen it in his eyes for a long time now, the boy is broken. He needs help, help he refuses to accept. We've tried to do a damage control so he won't go down the road many of his kin took... But his thoughts are filled with hatred and vengeance for the brother who sacrificed everything and did horrible things to him just to protect him. If he finds out the truth, that all his life has been a lie, the real reason as to why his clan died, then you will shatter any semblance of sanity left in him"

The Uzumaki woman froze as her sudden anger ebbed away in an instant. Mikoto's youngest was in pain. Her best friend's son needed help, as much as it was a bitter pill to swallow to hide the truth. Kushina wiped away the tears from her eyes and blood from her mouth; "guess I have two sons to worry about," she whispered. "I won't say a word. I love you old man but you're a real bastard some times."

Sarutobi only nodded in agreement. As he saw the begrudging nods from Kakashi and Yugao in keeping quiet as well. There were days he really hated his job.

* * *

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

* * *

After the boys got their showers and fresh clothes, per their female teammate's request/order. Naruto was excited, FAR too excited in Sasuke's and Sakura's opinion. The blonde's attitude had been turned up to eleven as he proceeded to guide them through the corridors of the forest tower with the largest smile on his face. The fact he still did not tell them what was so important was beginning to wear thin on their patience.

"Naruto, who is this person you want us to meet?" Sakura tried asking him again.

"I'll tell you when we get there~"

The pinkette sighed. "Give it a rest Sakura" Sasuke advised. "You won't change his mind"

 _'Well as least he's in a good mood if nothing else,'_ the rosette mentally mused. On that she was quite happy to see.

Hoofing up through the corridor, the trio reaches reach the medical wing which got Sasuke attention upon seeing ANBU openly standing guard. The blond gave a quick salute to masked Shinobi who gave a slight nod in return. They were silently glad the kids did not get here earlier with all the screaming.

They were greeted with the sight of their village leader standing a few feet away from a pair of doors. "Ah, here you kids are" He said, clearly expecting them.

"Hokage-sama?" Sakura voiced in confusion. "What's going on? Naruto wouldn't tell us much"

The Hokage let out a soft laugh; "Yes, I imagine so" He approached the blonde and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Listen, right now she's in a... delicate state at the moment. We had to inform her about friends of her who passed away"

The other two members of team 7 shared a look. Who was this 'she'?

"Ah" Naruto's gaze became downcast for a moment.

"You should go in. Seeing you will do her good"

Nodding the blond opens the doors now seeing Ero-Sennin in the room, seeing the redheaded woman was rubbing her face with her hands; "Mom?" Both Sakura and Sasuke looked wide eyed at each other than to the Hokage.

The elderly Shinobi grunted; "It's been a strange few days."

Kushina sniffed, lifting her head showing how puffy her eyes were from crying; "Hey sochi," her voice horse, cracked. She tried to smile, which did not reach her eyes.

Walking over to the bed the blond looked over to Yugao and Kakashi who sat back in their chairs giving a nod to him. He was picked up by a chain and brought onto the bed where his mom gave him a hug. He hugged back; "You okay mom?"

Kushina was quiet for a minute; "I'll be in a while."

Letting go, the blond looked over to Jiraiya; "Why are you here Ero-Sennin?"

The Toad sage deadpanned while getting light snort/giggle from the Uzu woman; "I told you not to call that brat."

"I'll stop calling you that when you stop peeking on the girls at the hot-springs." Naruto snarked back.

"Um, excuse me" Sakura politely called for their attention, and it was then that the others remembered that they had two new guests in the room. "I don't mean to be rude, but could you kindly tell us WHAT THE HELL IS GOING?!" She screeched.

Mom? Mom?! Did Naruto actually call this woman 'mom'?! What new spore of madness was this?!

Sasuke, while far more composed, could not stop the incredulity from becoming obvious on his expressions. "Yeah, I'm with her on that one. A little clarification would be nice"

Naruto pretty much hopped in place with a beaming smile; "This is my mom!"

"...A bit MORE clarification please"

The redhead for her part could not stop staring at the Uchiha, something the boy noticed and was becoming increasingly unnerving for him. The way he looked at him with such... nostalgia and disbelief.

"Wow" The woman muttered. "S-Sorry, it's just that... last time I saw you, you were barely a few months old"

Blinking the Uchiha looked at Naruto again; " _Explain please_..." He stressed through nearly gritting teeth.

"Short version;" Kakashi lifted a finger in a chipper tone; "Kushina-Sama survived via a powerful scroll made by the legendary goddess of Fūinjutsu Tsukiko Uzumaki. She was in a sort of healing stasis frozen in time for twelve years. She was finally unsealed the other day."

What followed was the most uncomfortable silence the two young genin ever experience, which lasted for a good two minutes before Sakura looked right to Naruto; "Are we in wonderland?" The rosette meekly asked.

Kushina blinks looking at Sakura long enough to make the rosette uncomfortable; "Sweetie is your father named Kizashi Haruno?"

"U-um. Yes ma'am?"

The redhead beams; "Which makes your mother Mebuki-chan! So that shop of theirs paid off after quitting being ninjas! How are they?!"

"Um" Sakura stammered as she awkwardly stared at the rather excitable woman whose smile was uncomfortably similar to Naruto's. "It-It's going well... I'm sorry this is all so very strange"

"Yeah, I guess it is isn't it?" Kushina asked rhetorically as she scratched her neck (again, in a manner that was just so similar to Naruto) "Let's start over shall we?" She cleared her throat. "Nice to meet you. My name's Kushina Uzumaki, born in Uzushio and all around badass"

Now with a proper introduction, Sakura could feel that some semblance of sense was stablished. "I'm Sakura Haruno" She greeted back with a short bow.

Reigning in her emotions as she shifted her gazed back to Sasuke. _'Gods he looks so much like Mi-Chan.'_ but mostly she focused on his eyes; "You really have Mi-Chan's eyes."

Stiffening for second, but keeping his cool, the Uchiha spoke; "So you did know my mother?"

Kushina nods; "She was my best friend since the academy. Hell she was my teammate in our genin squad." The redhead smirked (in a VERY Naruto-like fashion); "She was total badass, being creative with her Fire element and kenjutsu."

That caught more of Sasuke's; his mother had never really spoken much about her Shinobi days. "Oh, always thinking about other people. Too much on them and never enough on herself I always said" Her smile grew dim, slowly vanishing from her lips. "I uh... I heard what happened to her" Her voice was barely above a whisper, thick emotion, melancholy and sadness. "Gods, I loved her... I am so sorry" She put remarkable resolve at holding back the tears from spilling once more.

The air in the room grew weary. Nobody said a word for a moment.

"...She sometimes would mention you" Sasuke finally spoke, his eyes wouldn't meet hers. "Sounds like you two were close friends"

"...If you want, I could tell you about your mom during her shinobi days?"

Finally Sasuke looked up to her, not saying a word before nodding; "I'd... I'd like that."

* * *

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

* * *

"-so I took the servants' clothing so Mikoto and me could disguise ourselves. When I gave her the clothes she just gave me this weird look and told me; 'Why don't we just us henge?' Annnnnd she made me feel like a complete moron for having forgotten that. Boy was she the smart one in the team"

The genin and the other two adults in the room expressed their enjoyment of the tale each in their own way. Kakashi and Yugao had heard it before, but Kushina being present to tell it once more was a very refreshing feeling. Naruto for his part laughed with a toothy grin, Sakura for her part giggled behind her hand. Sasuke only let out a soft snort, which for the Uchiha was already a great expression of his feelings.

Hearing this woman remembers his mother so fondly was... nice, he would admit. To have someone else remember his mother, someone who could share their memories of her in such an away. It was comforting, made him feel relieved in a way. That there were people who still remembered her.

"I'm serious! Mi-chan always knew the right thing to say and do! She saw things that went right over my head"

Kakashi chuckled with his typical eye smile; "Only because you don't apply common sense to your plans, Kushina-sama"

"Oh screw you..."

Hard to believe two days had come and gone as the Uzumaki woman had been sharing all kinds of stories with her son and his team who told a few of their own. Kushina just gawked; "That stupid cat is STILL alive?!" Her head shifted to her student and late husband's student. "I told Jiji that thing was a Nekomata. Buuuut no it's the Daimyo's wife's favorite little kitty, we can't kill it..."

Kakashi chuckled weakly; "I'm just glad my team finally figured out how to capture him."

"Guess someone got the scratching?" Sakura pointed to both Naruto and Sasuke who both glared at the rosette upon Kushina's question. "Sounds like Obito and Kakashi," The silver haired jounin slumped his head earning a giggle from Yugao.

"Everyone having fun I see," Jiraiya walked into the room with some breakfast for everybody. He sweatdropped seeing both Naruto and Kushina drooling at the sight of their respected bowls of ramen. _'Yeah we know who the brat took after.'_ "Well you kids eat up and get ready for the prelims since it starts in a bit"

Thankfully before leaving, Hiruzen explained what was going to happen when the exams finally restarted, for which Kushina filled some details.

"You kids can draw lots of good info on potential opponents by watching them fight" The redhead advised. "Only good thing you can get whenever there's the need to have prelims. Otherwise they just make the exam longer than they're supposed to be"

"And this year, it's gotten even more complicated" Jiraiya grumbled in reply.

"Ugh, yeah. I heard" Kushina said in disgust, her eyes gaining an edge to them. "Orochimaru, that snake... He's planning something you know? He has to be"

"We're not dumb, girl. He must have something up his sleeve" The Toad Sage agreed. "He wouldn't have taken the risk of infiltrating just to kidnap ninja; it'd be easier for him to ambush them when they're away on missions. He has something in mind, something that requires his personal presence... I don't like this one bit"

Kushina deadpans; "He's after my son and Mi-Chan's son. Bad enough he put that cursed thing on Sasuke but wants to do it to Naruto if he gets the chance. That bastard tries getting near my son or Sasuke I'll skin him alive and make a purse out of him 'ttebane!"

"Not while you're recovering. Till then I'll keep an eye on the boys," Jiraiya said leaving no room to retort. "And until its then business as usual."

The redhead groans before devouring her salted ramen. Literally, she emptied it in what had to be one gulp, leaving Sakura and Sasuke to gawk, _'SHE'S WORSE THAN NARUTO!'_

Kakashi sighed as he stood up from his chair; "Well I guess we better get ready." He looked to his Genin who finished their breakfast. "Let's get to it shall we?"

"Hmmmmm" Kushina grumbled from her place on the bed. "Hmmmmm!" She grumbled louder, trying to make as much a scandal as possible.

Yugao sighed; "Is something wrong sensei?"

"I don' wanna stay here, I wanna watch the matches!"

Kakashi drawled. "Doctor's orders Kushina-sama, don't act like a child"

"You're a child!" She threw an accusing finger at him.

"I'll get a TV linked to a camera on the arena for you" The ANBU quickly assured her. "Will you stay here then?"

Kushina beamed at her. "And that's way you're my favorite student!"

"I'm your only student" The unlucky one who got roped with the woman-child, she sometimes thought.

* * *

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

* * *

Naruto gazed around the arena built at the base of the tower. It was HUGE, with large hands forming a seal carved out of stone at the front. Two balconies on the second floor for people to watch the fights one either side connected by stairs to the first floor. The blond grinned seeing his fellow Konoha graduated class all present, if not a bit worse for wear.

The blond gave a small quick wave over to Kumo and Kiri with Yugito giving the thumbs up and Haku smiling back. Looking forward he saw jiji with the Jounin sensei of the genin teams, the proctors of the first and second exams, along with Jiraiya standing on a stone platform in front of the carved hands.

"I bid you all welcome," Hiruzen spoke in authoritative tone. "I am glad to see a fair number of you endured the hardships of the forest and made it to the tower."

"So is this the third exam Hokage-Sama?" Kiba spoke up bluntly with Akamaru barking on his head. Kurenai breathed out a light sigh beside a chuckling Asuma.

"I'm afraid that's not the case" Hiruzen tried not to smile too much when he heard the hushed and groans whispers of disappointment and exhaustion. "You see, the number of applicants who made it out is larger than we anticipated, so we will need thin the herd so to say"

The examinees liked less and less where this was going.

"So for that, we shall be hosting a prelim exam. Those who win shall pass unto the third and final stage of the exam a month from now. Those who lose shall be disqualified and will need to apply for the next exams in two years"

Most of the genin grimaced, yet obstacle to overcome in order to reach their goal. Some welcomed the chance of further testing their skills, yet others looked like they were eager at the chance of fighting for its own sake.

"The fights shall me arranged the same way we arrange them for the third exam. One on one chosen at random"

One of the large blue segments behind the hand statue lifted revealing a monitor; "The names will be brought up on here."

* * *

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

* * *

"OH is that Tsume's boy?!" Kushina gushed watching a large screen television brought in by the ANBU and linked to the arena. Yugao sighed watching her sensei trying to see the kids of her old friends in the arena.

"Kiba Inuzuka," Yugao clarified as the Hokage was speaking to the Genin. "He graduated with Naruto."

"Hmm, he definitely takes after his mom. Hana-chan got the better looks out of the two I'd say" Not that she'd say that to Tsume's face. "So how's their father?"

"...He ran out on them..." Yugao lightly shifted recalling an angry Tsume storming through village looking for the good for nothing.

Kushina deadpans; "Well he's a lousy motherfucker." In seconds the redhead's mood shifted seeing Kiba's team; "I know a Hyuuga from a mile away. Hisashi's?"

"Indeed" Yugao nodded.

"Knew it, girl has Hitomi's hair color" Another friend who passed away in her absence, she tried not to think about it right now, so she ignored the pang of pain in her chest. "Goodness, look at her squirm. She looks shy as a mouse"

"Hinata-san has some... confidence issues from what Kurenai-san says. She's trying to help her with that"

"A shy Hyuuga" She mused. "Well, guess there is all kinds" One look at the last member of the team. "Who's the mini-Shibi?"

The ANBU chuckled in response. "Shibi-dono's son actually, Shino"

"Man, these Aburame. Can never tell them apart with them always hiding their faces..."

* * *

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

* * *

As Hiruzen finished explaining the reason behind the exams and man in a standard Konoha uniform with his Hitai-ate wrapped on his head like a bandanna appeared via shunshin. He was bowing to the village leader as he lightly coughed; "Hokage-sama, may I take over from here?"

Sarutobi gave a nod as the man stood turning to face the Genin; "My name is (cough) Hayate Gekkō. I shall be the proctor of the preliminaries (Cough)."

 _'Should he be even out of bed?'_ Naruto and Sakura thought in unison seeing the dark circles under the proctor's eyes, never mind light paleness of his skin. Not to mention the constant coughing he was doing every few minutes.

* * *

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

* * *

Kushina squinted very much like her son; "Is that guy gonna make it through the preliminaries? He should be in bed, not me." She soon noticed the awkward silence and looks from Yugao; "What?"

"...That's my boyfriend..."

The Uzumaki stared at her, then at the man on the screen, then at her again. All the while Yugao squirmed under her gaze.

"Nooooooo" Kushina slowly said, shaking her head incredulously.

"Yes..."

"Nooooooo" She retorted stronger than before. "Ugh, really Yugao? Really? He looks as lively as a corpse!"

"He is very sweet" The ANBU defended him.

"He is very sick, that's what he is. I'm not gonna question your taste in men... No fuck it, I'm gonna question your taste in men. I know this sounds hypocritical from the woman who married a Nancy boy, but at least he became handsome and less girlie as he grew older. This guy's looks like a soft wind could knock him over"

* * *

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

* * *

"Before we (cough) begin the preliminaries is there anyone who wishes to back out? If you wish stop from going further in the exam you may do so now."

By the looks from the young Shinobi none showed they wanted go anywhere till one hand rose up; "Actually I like to drop out if that's okay?" Kabuto spoke up looking rather disheveled from his time in the forest.

Anko pulled out a clipboard and pencil; "Kabuto Yakushi."

Being close to the elder team, Sakura looked over Kabuto; "Are you okay?"

The glasses wearing teen gave a weak smile; "Not really. That forest wore me out more than I liked. Even with the extra day I'm not feeling up for fighting." As he heard the Jounin telling him to leave he gave a small bow and turned.

After few steps his wrist was grabbed by one of his teammates. a teen wearing a high-collared, sleeveless, a purple shirt short-sleeved, with one white one underneath, an obi around his waist, purple pants, blue sandals and purple fingerless gloves. A mask cloth covered his mouth while his Hite-Ate covered his head; "What are you up to Kabuto?" Yoroi Akadō whispered.

"Nothing at all," Kabuto whispered back, "Have fun." Freeing his wrist he walked away; _'No need to let the real me out on a bunch Genin. Have fun Sasuke and Naruto...'_

Crossing his arms Jiraiya titled his head some; "Yakushi... I've heard that name before."

"That's Nonō Yakushi's adopted son I believe," Hiruzen tipped his hat, "that was the orphan boy she found in that destroy village years ago."

"Wait, wasn't she the one-?"

"The boy doesn't follow in her footsteps" The Hokage sternly said. "Danzo tried to have him act as a plant in the other villages, but was given to the village corps eventually. Since then he's been an active shinobi of our forces"

"Ah, I see" Jiraiya muttered. "Hmm, I worry about his future considering his history"

"Psychological evaluations don't hint at anything wrong, in a way he continues working as intelligence gathering. The info he gathers for the exams can be valuable"

"Let's hope he doesn't end up like his mother..."

"I feel sympathy for the boy, but I'm not in liberty of discarding assets to the village. Not in these times"

Jiraiya ruefully snorted; "'These times' have been going on for decades"

Lightly coughing, Hayate spoke up; "If no one else wants to back out, let's begin."

All eyes when to the wall monitor as two names appear. Sasuke Uchiha vs Yoroi Akadō. The Uchiha narrowed his eyes while Yoroi grunted, "Will everyone else please go to the second floor balconies except the named Genin?"

"You'd better win teme," Naruto smirked.

"Count on it Naruto," Sasuke smirked competitively right back; "Cause I'll be facing you in the 3rd exam."

Sakura just rolled her eyes before dragging her blond friend/teammate away. Arriving on the balcony their respected Jounin appeared beside their genin teams. Kakashi brightly waved at Zabuza whose Kiri team was close to his; "Yo!"

The swordsman rolled his eyes; "Kakashi..."

"Sup guys!" Naruto grinned to Haku and her team and waved to Yugito as her team came over.

Karui gave the blond a long look; "You look... different." She couldn't quite place it, but the blond seemed brighter.

"Just a few good days," Naruto said cryptically as he grinned. He soon blushed a storm as a young blond curvaceous woman at least four or five years older than him with a lighter shade of blue eyes than his walk over. Wearing a very low-cut outfit which displays her impressive bust, with mesh armor underneath, a short skirt and red hand guards, high boots. Her Kumo flak jacket being worn like griddle, Naruto blushes a bit more as she stands in front him; "Samui, you're Naruto Uzumaki I presume."

The young Uzumaki's mouth moves a bit before being lightly smacked on-top of the head by Yugito; "Uh yeah..."

"I'm the chunin substitute for my team from Kumo. Please to meet you."

 _'Don't look at her breasts'_ Naruto chanted to himself. _'Whatever you do, don't look at her breasts. Be better than Ero-sennin'_ on the arena, Jiraiya sneezed. Naruto coughed and focused on her very unimpressed eyes. "N-Nice to meet you, this is my teammate Sakura Haruno and Kakashi-"

"Hatake" Samui finished for him, surprising him. "Yeah, Kumo is familiar with him. We have standing orders regarding you, you know?"

"Oh" Team 7's sensei eye smiled cheerfully. "Is that right?"

"'If able, kill him and take his eye'" She coolly quoted, making the Kumo genin wince and Kakashi's students look at her with wide eyes.

 _'She has NO chill!'_ Sakura thought exasperated. Which was a rather ironic statement considering her frosty demeanor. A sentiment shared by her blonde teammate.

Kakashi, much to their surprise, chuckled. "Yep. Sounds about right"

Apparently he was far too used to people wanting him dead. This was more disturbing for Naruto and Sakura.

"Relax, obviously those orders aren't held during times for the exams. Keep the peace and all that" Samui shrugged. "But after the exams are over, who knows?"

Kakashi nodded casually, now reading his favorite book; "I understand Samui-san."

The red-haired Kumo Kunoichi dryly looks over to Naruto and Sakura; "Samui threatened him and he just reads one of those stupid smut books like it was nothing?"

"Yup," the two Konoha genin drawl.

Without even looking up, Kakashi casually informed them. "Sasuke's fight is about to start" That brought his students' attentions to the arena.

* * *

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

* * *

Coughing into his hand, Hayate turned his tired eyes to the genin that stood a good foot away from each other. "Are you two ready?"

"I am" Sasuke nodded.

"Heh" Yoroi snorted cockily. "This will be easy"

The Uchiha did not deign that with a response, he merely cracked his neck, showing his opponent that he didn't even think much of him. It got the intended result, Sasuke could feel the angry brewing inside Yoroi by the small amount of killing intent leaking out.

"First match of the prelims" Hayate called by raising his hand, managing to get his coughing under check for the moment. "Sasuke Uchiha vs Yoroi Akadō" And brought down his arm in a sweeping motion. "Begin!"

He withdrew from the arena, leaving the two combatants to face off.

Sasuke immediately began to calculate his odds, his thoughts nearly driven by instinct at this point. He knew nothing of Yoroi's capabilities, and if he dragged out the fight he risked showing some of his own skills to people who did not yet know how he fought, which would bring further complications for the final part of the exams.

He needed to end this fight quickly. For that, brutal and coldly calculated efficiency were necessary.

His Sharingan activated, he barely felt the sting of Cursed Mark on his neck. The Hokage had done a great job, if he hadn't had the damn thing warded off he wouldn't have been able to fight at full power for this match otherwise. Sasuke charged at his opponent, who charged towards him as well.

He could see Yoroi's movements clearly, he dodged a right punch while delivering a sweeping kick to his stomach. Yoroi reacted by holding his leg back with his left hand. Sasuke followed up with right fist, only to be caught by Yoroi as well.

Yoroi's hands were coated in chakra. And Sasuke felt his limbs grow weaker by the second. He could feel it and see it plain as day, Yoroi was using a technique to drain his chakra, physically exhausting his body.

"What's wrong Uchiha?" His opponent called mockingly. "Feeling tired?"

Sasuke immediately tried to get some distance between them. But Yoroi anticipated this and struck his remaining leg with a swift kick, throwing him off balance, and allowing Yoroi to drive him to the ground where he pinned him with a hold. Sasuke struggled under his opponent's weight, but his weakening strength made that very difficult.

* * *

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

* * *

"Come on kid, what'cha you doing?" Kushina muttered as she bit on a nail, watching the fight through the TV

* * *

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

* * *

"Get up Sasuke" Naruto grunted as he and Sakura watched on helplessly.

Kakashi took his gaze away from his book and to watch the fight. There was little worry in his gaze, he was certain Sasuke could overcome this. His students had been through worse after all.

* * *

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

* * *

"UGH!" Sasuke cried out as his head was slammed against the ground.

"Soon I'll dry all the chakra from your body until you're nothing but a husk" Yoroi boasted with a throaty sound as he kept his voice low.

The Uchiha focused his gaze on his opponent's eyes, but much to his shock they failed to penetrate passes the lenses.

"Awww, can't use your genjutsu?" The masked shinobi mockingly laughed. "Got news for you, these glasses are layered with seals. Ocular genjutsu can't penetrate the chakra barrier between them and my eyes"

Tch... What an idiot. Why would he tell him that?

Yoroi just told him what he needed to do.

Mustering all his strength, Sasuke slammed his head forward, his forehead protector clashing against the lenses. Yoroi recoiled immediately on the impact, the breaking glass did not pierce his eyes but it left them quite vulnerable.

Sasuke's Sharingan bore right into them.

* * *

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

* * *

"Goodnight!" Kushina cheered loudly as she laughed seeing Sasuke's opponent punched himself out and hit the ground unconscious. "Mi-chan was way more fun with her genjutsu."

Yugao rolled her eyes as her boyfriend declared Sasuke the winner.

* * *

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

* * *

"Way to go Sasuke-Kun!" Ino cheered beside Chouji and Shikamaru.

Haku glanced over to Sakura; "So his little problem was fixed?" she asked covertly in case if any team was listening.

Naruto simply gave her the thumbs up.

* * *

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

* * *

Looking at his down opponent Sasuke shook his head; "You never reveal a weakness to the enemy. That's basic 101." Shifting his feet, the Uchiha turned and went to his team; "I see why the Kabuto guy said you lot have been doing this seven times."

Leaning his back against the wall, the Oto Jounin smirked; _'So no reaction from my gift. They sealed it well.'_ His eyes gaze to Naruto; _'I will find the opportunity to give you my gift as well Naruto-Kun,'_ the man lightly chuckled

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

 **Till next time!**


	20. I will never be useless

**Disclaimer** : We do not own Naruto

 **Co-author and Beta** : Etheral-23

 **Note** : By the by, as you all can tell we haven't been following the main cannon of Naruto. This has been getting more and looser. Cause quite honestly after Godaime Hokage Arc, everything will be original.

 **Chapter 20: Prelims Act 1 'I will never be useless'**

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

Leaning with arms on the balcony railing, Kankuro lets out a disheveled grunt; "Was hoping to see a bit more from the Uchiha."

"I've always heard stories on how dangerous the Uchiha clan was," Temari stared impassively at the arena below as she leaned against the wall. "Actually wonder what that kid could do. Or if all those stories are hot air."

Standing beside the young Suna Genin was a very tall man. He had two distinctive traits, red markings on the right side of his face, the only visible part of his head, with the rest being covered by his turban head gear and by a sheet hanging from it on the left side of his face. Wearing the standard Suna Shinobi uniform, he grunts crossing his arms; "You never underestimate any opponent Temari."

"I get that Baki-sensei, but these Konoha genin barely have a year since their graduation right? Can we really expect much out of fresh rookies from the academy?"

"Age or experience can be meaningless once a battle has begun. There are those crucial moments which can be exploited if your enemy lets his guard down precisely because of those suppositions. It's in those moments you find your either a warrior or a coward."

Gaara said nothing as his seafoam green eyes stayed fixed on Uzumaki and the long blond haired Kumo girl. Something about their chakra felt, familiar… He couldn't place it. No matter, if they challenged him then they would become a blood sacrifice for mother.

To their left the Otogakure team keep their attention focused on Team 7. Dosu's eye glared murderously toward at a certain blond Uzumaki whose chatting with Sakura and Haku. Absently his left hand runs over his thick bandaged chest. ' _Orochimaru-sama's orders be damned. If I find a way; I am killing Uzumaki the first chance I get._ '

"I must say Kakashi," a man who looked like the adult version of Lee, right down to the haircut, green jumpsuit, orange leg warmers, and monstrous eyebrows, spoke. The jounin sensei of Tenten's team, Might Gai was leaning with his arms on the railing looking to his eternal rival; "You team thus far is interesting."

Naruto squinted realizing Sakura was hiding behind him. The blond had the 'pleasure' of meeting Tenten's eccentric sensei at her shop with Lee and a couple other times. He left an impression if you already guessed.

"I had the honor of meeting Naruto-Kun so I can tell you have an impressive team. But can they match against my own. I'd like to see that."

Kakashi lazily lifted his head from his book; "Sorry did you say something Gai?"

Neji and Tenten just sweatdropped and sighed heavily at their sensei's overreaction of being snubbed while Lee simply had tears in his eyes. The Kiri and Kumo Genin who had watched the weirdness just looked on wide eyed.

' _Konoha is full of weirdoes!'_ Kouhei mentally yelled.

Walking up the stair of the balcony, Sasuke strolled passed Kumo giving them short nod before standing by his team. "Not sure if I should feel sorry or pity for Kabuto with his team," Naruto mumbled.

The last loyal Uchiha gave a grunt; "Seriously who gives out their one weakness in the middle of a fight? Dumbass…"

Omoi nodded, rolling his lollipop in his mouth; "Unless he really thought he was better, or play psychological games, or-" His train of thought was halted by Karui's fist to the back of his head.

"Don't start please…"

Team 7 and even Kiri sweatdrop as names soon pop up on the monitor. Yugito Nii vs. Kiba Inuzuka; upon seeing the name of his opponent, the Inuzuka groaned out loudly. "Oh man, I seriously wanted the dobe!" Shino only shook his head at his teammate while their sensei sighed.

With a twitching eye, Naruto glared over at Kiba; "Be careful fleabag. You might get your wish in the 3rd exam. That is if Yugito-san doesn't kick your ass back to your kennel."

Kiba just scoffed as Akamaru barked; "Yeah right dead-last. You won't even last in the prelims." The young Genin leapt over the railing to the arena floor below.

"He's real luckily he's not facing me," Tenten lightly growled as she spun a kunai in her hand. Haku only glared quietly with Zabuza noticed the faint killer intent coming off his apprentice.

Naruto waved it off; "He likes being cocky."

"So do you," Sasuke, Sakura, and Kakashi drawl back.

"But I'm way cooler at it."

At that, the majority of the Konoha, Kiri, and Kumo crew on the balcony rolled their collective eyes while Yugito snickered before jumping down the railings.

* * *

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

* * *

Kushina's face was blank as her violet eyes were staring a hole at the Kumogakure kunoichi getting ready to fight Tsume's boy. Even with all her experience in the ANBU, Yugao felt a deep chill in the room, along with not being able to breathe. The killer intent radiating off her sensei was so overwhelming she felt she was drowning in water.

"S-Sensei..." The purple haired young woman manage to utter while under the pressure of such heavy killing intent, trying to snap her teacher out of her hate filled thoughts.

It worked, as Kushina's head perked up and blinked a couple of times, as if suddenly realizing what she was unintentionally doing. She shook her head and focused on calming her emotions, much to the relief of her apprentice who gasped softly for air upon feeling the heavy pressure leave the room.

"Sorry about that" Kushina sincerely apologized. She could pretty much hear Sakumo-sensei scolding her about not being in control of her emotions, something she never learnt to do apparently. Not that Kushina honestly cared much for that, she was an Uzumaki, wearing her heart on her sleeve was her nature. But she had to remind herself such things had consequences.

Taking a deep breath, Kushina focused and controlled her feelings much better this time, as she stared at the screen. "Kumo... Can't remember the last time they came to Konoha for the exams"

"Sarutobi-sama was cautious" Yugao explained, "but felt it was better not to shun them and avoid hostilities"

The Uzumaki snorted in disgust. "' _Avoid hostilities_ '" She parroted.

The ANBU could do nothing but awkwardly stand around as her sensei's gaze became lost in haze of memories. To say Kushina was angry at Kumo's presence in the village was a massive understatement. She and that village had a very bloody history, or rather, it was more accurate to say her clan and that village along with Iwa had a bloody history.

If there was two places Kushina hated more than anything in the world, it was the villages of Kumo and Iwa. One of the two villages responsible for the destruction of her homeland and the death of her clan. And adding the failed attempted of kidnapping her as a child foiled by Minato, she had nothing but contempt for Kumogakure. "And it was Kumo who _just_ so happened to find my son as he was nearly killed by Hebi-Teme's wind jutsu," the edge in her tone could have stopped any hardened warrior in their tracks.

"W-While I am uncertain of their Chunin substitute sensei Samui; those three haven't shown any sign of underhandedness around Naruto. Kuma and Usagi had been watching them by order of Hokage-sama after confronting Orochimaru."

Kushina's gaze towards her student showed she was hardly convinced. Shifting her eyes back she watched the monitor once again.

* * *

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

* * *

As Yugito passed her opponent both Kiba and Akamaru caught her scent. _'Okay she smells good but weird? I swear I-'_ He looked up seeing Akamaru lightly shaking; "What's wrong buddy?" the little pup just whimpered, barking softly. _'Strange, Akamaru only did that with-'_ He looked wide eyed paling considerably as he glanced up to Gaara who was thankfully staring at Yugito for gods know whatever reason.

His mind flashed back to his team seeing Suna in the forest...

Okay she definitely wasn't as insane and bloodthirsty as that Gaara guy, he literally reeked of it. Granted looks can always be deceiving. But why did something about her smell felt the same as that Suna lunatic? What the hell?!

Standing in front of her opponent, the Nibi Jinchurriki raised a delicate brow at the Inuzuka who was looking at her and weirdly behind her. Lightly glancing herself, she saw Gaara staring down solely at her. _'What's his problem?'_

In her mindscape, Matatabi tilted her head before letting out a low growl at to what she sensed what was within the Suna child Gaara. **"Oh great... So that's Suna's new host for him. Kitten, you hear this to Naruto."** Both young blond's blink upon hearing the feline Bijuu speaks to them. **"That Gaara boy is a Jinchuuriki."**

The two young shinobi did everything they could to suppress their reaction of shock and surprise at this monumental news. The most that managed to escape from them was a temporary widening of their eyes. Naruto in particular was reeling at this; Gaara was like them? Was this the reason he was so psychotic?

He didn't know if that could be true, the fox had not driven him insane nor driven him to violent acts despite his clear dislike for people. Matatabi was pretty nice actually, so Naruto was reminded that the Bijuu themselves had their own personalities. He had no idea what Gaara's tenant was like.

Picking on his thoughts, Kurama snorted. **"Shukaku is a weakling, that's all there is to it"**

 **"Kurama!"** The flaming feline chastised him.

 **"Oh I'm sorry,"** by the Kitsune's mocking tone he really wasn't; **"How about psychotic one-tailed weakling..."** Kurama then tuned out his feline sibling's verbal ranting by going back to sleep.

Seeing how she was being ignored, Matatabi only growled before explosively huffing; **"At any rate. You two be careful if you confront Gaara. Suna Jinchuuriki are known to be mentally unstable."**

Focusing back to her match Yugito took a long deep breathe before giving a steely gaze to the spooked looking Kiba and Akamaru. Having the feeling he was being stared at, Gaara glanced up seeing Naruto staring at him with a wide eyed expression. Ignoring the blond's gaze he looks back down to the arena once more.

Yugito felt her eyes twitching seeing and feeling the hesitance coming off from her opponent. Putting her hands on her hips as she tapped her foot, the blond Kunoichi tilted her head; "What's wrong mutt boy? You and your little puppy's balls get cut off when you jumped over that railing or something?"

Kiba froze before his temper exploded; "What the hell did you just say!?"

"Well if you took that stupid hood off your head it might help you actually hear things you know," the Nibi Jinchuuriki chided back.

"Grrrr!" He growled, faring his sharp teeth at her.

"She's playing you, Kiba. Don't fall for her tricks" Shino advised from the stands, usually he wouldn't have been heard, in fact none of the other people in the stand was able to hear him due to how low his voice was. But Kiba's superior hearing allowed him to pick up his words.

The Inuzuka breathed in deeply and held back his anger just a bit. He shared a look with his partner, Akamaru barked, expressing that while he was nervous around this opponent he would fight alongside him with all he had.

Kiba grinned; "Let's do this boy!"

Hayate coughed into his fist before directing his gaze at the genin. "Are you two ready?"

Yugito rolled her neck, popping the stiff joints as she took a rather feral stance, crouching and spreading her fingers like claws. Kiba did the same, but placed one hand on the ground as Akamaru stood atop of his head.

"Second match; Yugito Nii vs Kiba Inuzuka" Hayate called as he rose his hand. "Begin!"

He left the arena in a blur, and Yugito charged at her opponent, nails growing and sharpening, ready to strike. Kiba and Akamaru leaped back, dodging a slash from her nails. But she did not relent, Yugito quickly pursued them, launching several slashing attack with great precision and speed. All the ninja and dog duo could do was dodge, as her swiftness left little room for them to properly counter attack.

Leaping back once more, Kiba moved to deliver a sweeping upper kick the moment she got close, his body flipping and landing on his hand as Yugito narrowly dodged the feet that nearly came into contact with her chin, forcing her to take a step back. Kiba did not stop, as soon as he landed on his palms he twisted his body and pushed himself from the ground, delivering a set of aerial spinning kicks at his opponent.

Yugito crossed her arms in front of her face, shielding herself from the kicks as they collided with her forearms. Kiba kicked her limbs repeatedly, finishing with a strong strike that pushed her back a few feet as he and Akamaru landed on their feet.

"How you like that bitch?" Kiba's grin was practically feral as Akamaru barked loudly at his feet.

* * *

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

* * *

Kushina deadpans; "Oh he took after Tsume alright. Right down to the trash talking." The redhead said, ignoring the dry look that came from Yugao.

* * *

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

* * *

"Glad to see he wasn't slacking off after graduation," Sasuke spoke absently watching the fight.

"Indeed," Shino actually spoke up loud enough for Team 7, Kiri, and Kumo to hear him. "You'll find him a difficult opponent if you face him Uchiha. That goes for you as well Naruto"

The blond Uzumaki snorted; "Yeah I will gladly whip that smug ass smirk off dog-breath, I'll show him I'm not the same person I was in the academy."

Shino gave his former classmate a look before turning back to the fight. Hinata all the while had been quiet, glancing at Naruto several times. Kiba's previous words ringed in her mind; _'Naruto-Kun has changed a lot Kiba-Kun... Like I want to...'_

Karui only scoffed; "Won't matter how good he is, no way he's beating Yugito. She's trained harder than any of us. Samui-neechan is a badass, but Yugi-chan is the best of us because she earned it through blood, sweat, and tears."

* * *

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

* * *

Lowering her arms, Yugito's cat-like eyes gaze towards Kiba; "Was that all you got mutt boy?" Before vanishing in a burst of speed.

"Tch!" Kiba's eyes widened as his opponent's speed seemed to have increased exponentially. "Akamaru, with me buddy!" The pup barked in acknowledgement and the two prepared their special move, he triggered the Four Legs Technique, driving his body's physical capabilities to new heights by enveloping his entire body with chakra to the point it became visible. He took on an even more feral look as his eyes turned into slits, his canines enlarged and his nails grew. He was now a beast-like human.

For the second part of his technique, Akamaru stood atop him, synchronizing his chakra with his partner. This would allow Akamaru to turned into a sort of clone of himself by using a full physical transformation technique, and fight against their opponent with the same capabilities a human body would provide.

Kiba felt Akamaru transform above him, but his senses were focused on the Kumo ninja, he could hear the sound of her footsteps, smell her scent to pinpoint her location even if she was moving at such high speed. Together, he and Akamaru in this state would be able to defeat her.

But there was one factor Kiba didn't account for-

Yugito appeared at their side in a blur, and delivered a sweeping roundhouse kick that knocked the transformed Akamaru far away from Kiba's back, sending him crashing across the ground several feet away from them.

-they weren't fast enough to intercept her.

"Akamaru!" Kiba shouted in concern for his friend. He barely had time to direct his anger and lash out when a backhanded strike hit him across the cheek. Spit and blood escaped his mouth as Yugito mercilessly continued her assault. A knee to his stomach, followed by a series of punches that build up their way from his midsection until they connected to his chin with a devastating uppercut.

Kiba stumbled backwards, pain dulling his senses as he was grabbed by collar of his hoodie and pulled back, Yugito buried her fist directly on his right cheek and sent him to the ground.

Akamaru had just shook off the pain and was ready to retaliate and aid his partner, his human form took a very canine stance as he was about to jump into the fray. The pup froze in place seeing his partner on the ground, bruised and bloodied, groaning as a forearm pressed against his throat, while long sharp nails hovered threateningly above him.

One look at those cat-like eyes that met his gaze and he received a clear message; 'Try it, and your partner is done for'.

With little choice, the pup growled in anger as he remained still.

Satisfied, Yugito turned to her downed opponent. "Give up"

* * *

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

* * *

Naruto and Sakura both cheered and winced as the proctor called the match upon Kiba's verbal submission. Akamaru returned to his original canine form running back his master. "Damn she is brutal," the blond Uzumaki spoke up as Yugito starting walking away as Kiba sat up with a hiss.

"Don't expect anything less if you by chance face her Uzumaki," Samui responded looking to the stairs as Yugito comes up; "Cool fight."

The Kumo Jinchuuriki shrugged; "It was alright. But it didn't really get my blood pumping though." She'd like something excitement to happen in these exams… Something that didn't involve a lunatic Konoha traitor sannin like in the forest, she never wanted to press her luck like that ever again. But a good fight against someone that was and equal to her. That would be her kind of fun!

Grunting Kiba soon reached the balcony as he passed everyone by. He spoke not a word as Akamaru laid on his head whimpering. As soon he got to his team, Kurenai and Hinata began to fuss over him in the blink of an eye. "I'm fine sensei, Hinata."

The genjutsu mistress was not buying it; "If you're not getting medically looked at then I'm looking you over, so off with that shirt."

Kiba just grunted as his puppy leaped into Hinata's arms.

"Oi, Inuzuka" The blonde genin from Kumo called, and Kiba regarded her with an apathetic look, expecting her to gloat about her victory. To his surprise, there was no smile of smugness, no satisfaction in her eyes, but instead there was acknowledgement. "That was a good fight. Keep it up and you'll get better"

It wasn't mockery she spoke with, but respect. She was recognizing him as a respected opponent rather than a defeated enemy to lord over with a sense of superiority. Something he'd have expected from Kumo.

His surprised lasted little, as he found himself smirking. "Next time, I'm gonna kick your ass"

"You can try" Yugito smiled challengingly.

A cough gathered everyone's attention once more as Hatake called from the arena; "We will now choose the participants for the next fight"

The screen randomly began rolling their names; everyone held their breath as they expectedly waited for the names to be displayed.

It finally settled in two; Shino Aburame vs Haku Yuki.

* * *

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

* * *

Kushina winced seeing Tsume's boy get brutally beaten down by Kumo. As much as she hates that village, she will acknowledge talent when seeing it, begrudgingly... As the new names come up the redhead brightens; "Shibi's kid!" She tilted her head looking at the fifteen years old Kiri Kunoichi; "So that's the Haku that Naruto kept talking about."

"From Sempai's report about Nami no Kuni; she was personally trained by Zabuza Momochi. Combined with her bloodline limit Hyoton she can be a dangerous opponent," Yugao spoke in an analytical tone, eyeing the monitor seriously.

"Sochi was right; she really is a beautiful young lady." Kushina's sole student face faults; "I can see why he has bit of a crush on her."

 _'She wasn't listening to a thing I just said…'_

* * *

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

* * *

Standing a good distance in front of each other, Haku gave a respectful bow to the Aburame heir. "I hope we both do well Shino-san."

In return, Shino gave a short nod; "I feel the same Haku-san."

Coughing, Hayate raised his hand; "Third match; Shino Aburame vs Haku Yuki... Begin!" And vanished from the arena.

Haku immediately took a stance, going through the proper hand seals to ready her ice element. The Aburame had not moved, he stood still with his hands on his pockets, but Haku knew this was not from arrogance on his part, Aburame fought at a distance as Zabuza had taught her. They relied on their hives to fight.

Haku had little to no experience when fighting insects. There had been encounters in which she faced opponents capable of summoning giant insects, but not entire swarms of creatures so small they could easily escape her vision. She would play on defensive first; if her suspicions were correct then his hide would not be able to withstand the cold.

Shino slowly took his hands out, small insects of many varieties swarming over his limbs as they seemed to come out from his very skin.

* * *

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

* * *

Karui paled significantly, a reaction mirrored by Omoi. Yugito gagged pressing a hand over her mouth. "Oh... Oh gods that's new" She had heard the tales, read the reports and everything. But to see it firsthand was something else. "When I heard about the Aburame being 'living hives' I thought that may have been... hyperbole"

"Nope" Sakura shivered. "Literal"

Chojuro felt nauseated while Kouhei thought his eyes might bulge out of his head. "That's... disturbing"

Zabuza rolled his eyes. "Wimps..."

A loud yawn came from a bored looking Shikamaru who lazily leaned against railing while Chouji ate chips beside him. "I could be taking a nap right now." Asuma only rolled his eyes, lighting a new cigarette. Ignoring the glares from Ino, Kurenai, and even Hinata… well, 'glare' was too strong a word for the young Hyuuga, at most it could be called 'vague disapproval'.

"Take a nap after the prelims dummy," Ino lightly snapped. "Till then suck it up."

"Troublesome..." Shika kept one eye open on the arena; _'I know Shino's noticed already.'_

* * *

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

* * *

 _'The temperature is dropping,_ ' Shino soon noticed his own breathe even as he kept his eyes on his opponent. _'A bloodline limit?'_

Haku's eyes never left her opponent as frost soon coated the floor around her feet and started to spread more and more.

The Aburame heir quickly took action before the temperature could drop further. He sent a swarm of his bugs flying straight towards his opponent, beetles and other fliers numbering in the hundreds, their amalgamation creating a shifting cloud-like form from there.

Haku's eyes narrowed; with a shift of her handsigns she increased the potency of her ice element taking effect on the air around her. The moment the insects got within a feet of coming into contact with her, they suddenly splintered off and moved around her as to avoid her. Many of the swarm falling to the ground frozen.

Shino quickly recalled the swarm back to him as he analyzed the situation. The temperature around his opponent was too much for his hive to handle, the insects had instinctively avoided her, and even them various others had fallen prey to the low temperatures, almost frozen in an instant.

 _'Temperatures are too much for my swarms'_ Shino thought critically. _'Adaptation to the temperatures will require a bit of time before they can withstand it. But by then my foe will have already attacked, her ice element will be too strong for me to counter on my own'_ He tried to draw out any possible outcome that might result in his factory. _'Arena unsuitable for evasion tactics and stealth. Not enough time to remain at bay and let my hive adapt'_ yet the odds decreased with every alternative he thought of. _'Chances of victory... very low'_

Shino let out a silent breathe; "Proctor. I submit defeat..."

Appearing back in the arena Hayate gave the Aburame teen a look; "You're certain?" Getting a nod the proctor announced the winner; "Haku Yuki wins by opponent's verbal submission."

"A wise decision," the Hyoton user smiled as her ice soon vanished with the temperature returning to normal. "I glad there was no need to spill blood."

"I'd rather not sacrifice my insects; you are quite skilled Yuki-san."

A loud grunt came from Zabuza gaining people's attention; "You're still too soft Haku."

The Hyoton user merely smiled; "I know."

* * *

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

* * *

Kushina whistled; "She's good... She knows her bloodline limit well." Yugao gave a small nod. The redhead's eyes lit up seeing the next match. "Oh this will be cool!" Sakura Haruno vs Ino Yamanaka; "Wonder how good Inoichi's daughter is."

The ANBU woman simply looked the other way.

* * *

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

* * *

Blinking, the rosette put her hair in a low ponytail giving Naruto a thumbs up; "Wish me luck."

"You don't need it," Naruto smirked back watching his teammate go down the stair. "Hope she doesn't kill Ino," the blond muttered as Ino walked by winking to Sasuke who ignored her.

"I'll win big time Sasuke-kun," The Yamanaka sing-songed before going down the step.

Samui's critical eye never missed a detail as she spoke to the boys of team 7; "She's a little thin for someone her age."

Naruto nervously chuckled as Haku and Shino came up the stairs and back to their teams; "Um, Ino is bit of a... Fan-girl..." Why did he just feel a hint of rage surge from Karui, Yugito, and Samui?

"...A bit?" Sasuke spoke up lifting a brow.

Kakashi momentarily took his gaze up from his book; "Say Asuma" He called to the leader of Team 9. "What kind of missions have your kids taken?"

"D-ranks. Occasional C-Ranks with bandits, nothing mayor, mostly bodyguard duty" The Sarutobi said as he took a drag from his cigarette. "Thought it would have been enough for her to wise up a bit"

"Did she kill anybody yet? Seen a corpse at least?"

"Nope" Asuma said regretfully. "Usually those are good eye openers"

"Well, I guess we were lucky in that regard" The Copy Nin said optimistically. "Our first serious mission really gave my cute little students a good welcome into the shinobi life"

"Yeah" Naruto drawled, a bit disturbed with how casual the jounin were about the whole thing. "With a psycho A-Rank ninja trying to kill us..."

"Yo" Zabuza lazily waved at them.

"You fought THAT guy?!" Kiba, now shirtless and covered with some bandages, yelled as he pointed to the Kiri Nin who yawned.

"DO I LOOK CRAZY FLEA BAG?! I was fighting Haku-chan while Kakashi-sensei dealt with the lunatic over here!" Naruto yelled back. "How the hell she stayed normal when being raised by _that_ is beyond me!"

Zabuza oddly enough took the jibes with pride puffing up his chest out. Till Haku spoke; "Zabuza-sama is hopeless when it comes to cooking, I had to teach him." The swordsman face faulted.

* * *

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

* * *

Standing face to face with her opponent, Sakura pulled out her black gloves and put them on. "When did you start wearing that billboard brow?"

Ignoring the jibe, the rosette gave her former friend a look; "When I decided to be a real kunoichi."

"What the hell does that mean?" Ino's eye twitched feeling like she was insulted.

"Means exactly what I said," Sakura kept a calm demeanor as she popped her knuckles; "Thanks to Naruto and our first mission as a team I had my eyes open." She soon took one of the two Taijutsu stances that she and Naruto have been learning together for several months now. "Let me show you."

* * *

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

* * *

Kushina perked up seeing that Taijutsu stance; "That's…." Yugao nodded as her sensei looked at her then back to the monitor with a smirk. "Let's see how far she and Sochi got using my Taijutsu." Her face soon turned serious; "What did she mean by now being a real kunoichi?"

"Sakura-san I believe became a ninja for the wrong reasons…It was to impress a boy," Yugao shook her head remembering the pinkette's original attitude and outlook on life before Nami no Kuni.

The redhead paused before a long loud groan came from the redhead's throat as she now glared; "She was a fan-girl?"

"Yup, her and Ino-San… Though by how it looks, Only Sakura-san started taking her duties seriously several months ago. Inoichi-san's daughter…"

"Are you-" Kushina growled as she ran her hands over her face. "I swear everything was fine till that masked bastard showed up and I was sealed away. Then I wake up and the whole damn village has GONE TO SHIT!" she screamed before huffing.

Yugao rubbed her sensei's back in sympathy, she honestly shared her sentiment.

* * *

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

* * *

"Are the contestants ready?" Hayate asked after recovering from a coughing fit. Upon receiving two nods of confirmation he raised his hand; "Fourth match; Sakura Haruno vs Ino Yamanaka... Begin!"

By the time the proctor started the match Ino was already sure of her chances. All she needed to do was lock on to Sakura with her mind transfer technique and manipulate her body to make the pinkette surrender. It seemed as though Sakura was aware of her plan so she wasted no time in charging at her.

Ino smirked as Sakura raised her fist, jumping away as to avoid the fist that missed its marked and carried on its trajectory towards the floor.

The fist made contact with the ground, and the ground promptly exploded.

By 'exploded' what it actually means is that the sheer force behind broke through concrete that it send small chunks of stone flying upwards by a few feet. Cracks spread like a twisted spider's web until it reached around three to four feet in size with an indentation of the concrete of at least one foot.

The act had made Ino lose her balance and fall flat on her butt, leaving her to openly stare at the pinkette with horror. "Ah... ah... Ahhhh..!" She managed to utter only incoherencies as a she comically trembled before what she had just witnessed.

Hiruzen's and Jiraiya's jaws drop along with majority of onlookers seeing the destruction of Sakura's punch to the ground. Naruto just shivered painfully remembering the sparring sessions his clones had as she learned that technique. Asuma's cigarette fell out of his mouth, which was mimicked by the chip in Chouji's hand.

Tenten and Neji's eyes were the size of dinner plates along with their sensei's while Lee gawked. Team Kiri and Kumo who had not seen the rosette in action were not faring much better as Zabuza robotically turned to a visibly stunned Kakashi. "What the fuck did you do to her Kakashi?"

Sasuke to his credit tried to keep his cool as he looked over at Naruto; "H-How?"

"Very painfully," Naruto still shivered.

"NOT ANOTHER ONE!" The Hokage and Gama Sannin bellowed in terror.

* * *

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

* * *

Kushina's jaw dropped; "Oh fucking hell... She figured out how to do THAT?!"

"All by herself," Yugao said warily having watched the training sessions of Naruto and Sakura did on their own.

* * *

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

* * *

The 'Jounin Sensei' of Oto lifted a brow; _'crude, but a remarkable recreation of my old teammate's monstrous strength. More than what I expect from a civilian-born,'_ Might as well keep an eye on her, out of curiosity.

As the smoke cleared, Sakura almost predatory stared right at Ino; "Like the new me?"

 _'WHAT THE HELL! Sakura was genjutsu type, even I know that!'_ Ino just looked wide eyed trembling.

The pinkette rolled her neck; "I figured out that if my chakra control was that good, I might as well put it to use for more practical means"

She called having the punch equivalent of a bomb 'practical'?!

"So" Sakura's smile was a bit cheeky. "What have you learnt since the academy? Been working on your family's jutsu right?" The genin took a few steps forward, walking out from the rubble. "So come on, try using it against me"

Ino gulped. This was not good; this was most definitely not good. She did not expect for Sakura to have grown this much stronger since they started training with their teams. It made her own progress look paltry in comparison- No! Now was not the time for doubt, she was as much a kunoichi as she was!

The Yamanaka first thought of using her mind transfer technique, but hesitated when she realized the pinkette was most likely goading her. Sakura was smart; she must have laid some sort of trap, or had something in mind that would work in her advantage the moment she did her technique. Genjutsu would not work much, as chakra control was Sakura's specialty. This led her with one option.

A frontal assault, she would have to outmaneuver and outpace her.

So Ino got to her feet and shifted into a taijutsu stance.

"...Tell me she's not serious" Tenten deadpanned.

"Attacking Sakura-chan head on seems... unwise" Lee tactfully said.

Asuma facepalmed; "Ino, you're supposed to be smarter than this..."

Chouji noted his longtime friend had closed his eyes and was trying to rest on the railing, "Uh, Shikamaru, don't you wanna watch Ino's match?"

"Why bother?" The young heir of the Nara clan yawned. "Ino already lost"

The Yamanaka charged forwards, chakra coursing through her legs as she accelerated in a dash of speed, fist reared back to strike her opponent. Sakura did not move, which Ino mistook as a sign she wouldn't react in time, leading her to throw her punch.

Sakura caught it unflinchingly with one hand.

"You're really thin you know" The Haruno casually commented as though they weren't in the middle of a fight. "You should eat more protein, build up muscle"

For the second time today, Ino gulped.

Finally the blond kunoichi couldn't stop herself; "How did you change so much!?" Looking at her former old friend up close now, she saw how toned and fit Sakura's muscles were. Granted she saw them in the first exam, but now really looking the rosette was in the best shape she'd ever seen.

Sakura's jade eyes gave her a warm look; "I had a wakeup call on my first mission, and Naruto made me see some things differently" She really owed her friend so much for helping become the kunoichi she is now. Just seeing Ino like this, how she also used to be, it really bugged her.

"Why would you listen to the Dead-" Ino winced as Sakura glared as she squeezed the blond's fist.

"Don't you ever call Naruto dead-last. He's has gone above and beyond from the person we remember during the academy. Sure he's a cocky smart-ass, but that will never change. And you saw his bloodline limit in the first exam, but that's the tip of the iceberg." The rosette shook her head; "Ino, you need to start being a _real_ kunoichi. You're the heir to one the shinobi clans of the village. And it scares me to think if your teams gets into real trouble and you're still like this. You're a better person who just shouldn't settle for being weak fan-girl Kunoichi."

Outrage, humiliation, the feeling of her pride being wounded, the Yamanaka held these emotions in her heart as the pinkette's words cut deep. She wasn't just some fangirl, she was a kunoichi! She was Ino from the Yamanaka clan!

She would show her, she would show everyone she was worth it of that name. She wouldn't let the Sakura's judgement, or anybody's, get to her like this. Ino knew who she was, she knew she was strong.

That's what she was telling herself.

"I-I am a true kunoichi!" The Yamanaka seethed through gnashed teeth, holding back the tears of anger. She reared her free arm back, hand closing into a fist. "I am-!"

Ino's sentence was cut short as Sakura's free arm lashed out with a swift left hook. Ino's head turned to the side as her body fell almost boneless as consciousness left her. Sakura grabbed the Yamanaka's form and gently laid her on the ground.

She turned to proctor who immediately approached to check the blonde's condition. He coughed before declaring; "Winner by knockout, Sakura Haruno!"

The rosette wasn't really listening as she stared at the unconscious form of her former best friend; _'Maybe we can be friends again after all this...'_ She soon noticed Ino's sensei appearing and picking up his student. "She should wake up in a bit. I made sure to hit her softly... I just hope she listened."

Asuma smirked; "We can hope, good show kid, be proud of that."

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 **Allons-y!**


	21. My Resolve

**Disclaimer** : We do not own Naruto

 **Co-Author and Beta** : Etheral-23

 **Note** : _No, Naruto will NOT nor EVER shall be an overpowering super divine entity of mass destruction. Anyone hoping for that is reading the wrong story. There will be characters, be they from Cannon or OC stronger than him and outright outclass him in the current story-line and in the Shippuden story-line. Yes, Naruto will eventually become a badass in his own right. But NOT a god-like badass._ _ **WE. DO. NOT. CARE.**_ _For any power tripping Naruto who beats up and bashes EVERY character. That will not happen… EVER! Thank you for your time, onto the chapter!_

 **Chapter 21: Prelims Act 2 'my resolve'**

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Jiraiya grunted beside Hiruzen as the ANBU cleaned up the area floor to be fight-able again. "You know, after Nami I had planned on teaching the brat my Taijutsu. Since he was still using basic academy katas and that only gets you so far." He pretended to think by tapping his chin than showing surprise; "but who'd have guess that Naruto, found his own mother's private Taijutsu scroll, in the public library no less" His voice held the fakest tone of confusion and wonderment possible.

Dryly gazing down at his sensei, the elderly Kage simply lit his tobacco pipe without saying a single word. The Gama sannin kept talking; "No big surprise the brat's been teaching pinkie." He had been observing the two when they did their own training sessions by themselves. Jiraiya was impressed how both were actually coming, granted he didn't see when Sakura started pulling a Tsunade, thus his alarmed reaction.

"Quite the interesting year this is turning out to be" The Hokage idly commented.

"Interesting, yeah" Jiraiya curtly replied with a dry tone. "I guess that's one word to describe it"

"Now let's see who it'll be for the next round" Hiruzen said as the names began spinning one again, he could practically see the aspirants holding their breath in anticipation.

Then, the result was shown.

"Well" Jiraiya muttered. "This will be interesting..."

Genma coughed before announcing; "The next contestants are Chouji Akamichi vs Rock Le-"

"YOOOOOOOOOSH!" He was cut short by the sudden exclamation of raw unadulterated excitement as the genin in question cheered at the tops of his lungs. "Now it's my turn to prove myself, Gai-sensei!" The boy's eyes were aflame, the sheer enthusiasm made one feel as though he had literally burst into flames.

The ever enthusiastic sensei of the team's namesake pats his hand on Lee's shoulder; "Yes Lee, time to show everyone here how hard work is just as good as natural talent." Gai gives thumbs up and smile which somehow gleams like the sun.

Kouhei rubbed his eyes; "Seriously Konoha is WEIRD." His two teammates idly nodded back.

Choji on his part looked partly concerned against his opponent and actually having to fight. "Umm sensei?"

Asuma simply pats his student's back, "You got this Choji. And food's on the house after-" The Sarutobi chuckled as the Akimichi heir was already standing down at the arena floor.

"You know Chouji will thin your wallet dry right?" Shikamaru commented; looking behind him to see Ino was still unconscious.

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"He looks like Chōza when he was twelve!" Kushina beamed as she and Yugao had lunch. "How good is he?"

"Choji-san has a bit of confidence issues, but he has showed promise."

Kushina smiled before turning so serious in a matter of seconds it threw her apprentice off; "How can you tell me with a straight face that Lee kid is not Gai's!?" The redheaded Uzu woman just stared at the monitor in horror, "The EYEBROWS, HAIR, and THAT GODS AWFUL GREEN JUMPSUIT!?" He was practically Gai's freaking clone!

"Hokage-sama did do a secret blood test; there is no relation" Kushina just gawked; "With neither him nor the deceased Dai being a relation"

"Gods help us..."

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Naruto shook his head as Lee jumped from the balcony; "Glad I was never that bad."

"You gotta respect Lee..." Tenten muttered, "If it wasn't for him, Gai-sensei would have put _US_ in spandex instead" A dark cloud seemed to cover her eyes in dread as the horrifying possibility flashed in her mind.

Even the ever serious Neji couldn't help but mirror her expression.

The other teams from Konoha sweatdropped at this. "Team Gai has it hard huh?" Sakura muttered to no one in particular.

"You have no idea" Kakashi replied.

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"Are both contestants ready?"

"YOSH!" Lee shouted as she took a flawless stance.

"Yeah" Choji said as he readied himself to perform his family's jutsu.

Hayate raised his arm; "Fifth Match, Choji Akimichi vs Rock Lee... Begin!"

Lee spun forward with a burst of speed that left a dust cloud in his wake. Choji stared in surprise, hastily reacting by enlarging his arm to huge proportions to the point it was larger than his entire body. He grunted as he a punch, which Lee easily ducked under with sheer speed and agility.

The spandex wearing genin positioned himself behind the Akimichi, and before the large bellied ninja could turn he delivered a swift chopping strike to his neck.

Choji fell to the ground like a sack of potatoes.

The entire arena fell silent. The spectators could only watch gawking at what had just transpired.

"...the fuck?" It was Zabuza who had broken the silence as he voiced the incredulity everyone was feeling at the moment.

"Proctor!" Lee stood straight as he stared at the confused Hayate. "Does this mean I win?"

"Um... yeah" Even his cough seemed to have taken a backseat due to how surprised he was. "Winner by knockout, Rock Lee..."

" _ **YYYYYOOOOOOOSSSSSHHHH**_!" Lee's voice roared throughout the arena as he danced and cheered.

Temari and Kankuro just blinked along with their sensei who looked just as bewildered. Gaara only watched blankly before looking back to Yugito and Naruto.

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In her medical section, Kushina and Yugao both gawked as they watched Gai's mini-me cheered to the heavens above

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"Troublesome," Shikamaru just grunted as Asuma sighed before going to retrieve his second unconscious student. "And that just leaves me to represent my team... Wonderful," the Nara heir dryly muttered leaning on the railing.

"Choji's no slouch when he actually fights," Naruto lightly defended. Remembering the few spars in the academy.

Kakashi spoke up; "Their dynamics were too contrasting. Choji had power, but Lee has speed and strength. The difference between them was clear."

"Had he had better defenses to counter Lee's speed, the fight would have been different" Sasuke reasoned. "At least, it would not have been this one-sided"

"Compatibility can be a very deciding factor in a battle" Their sensei instructed them. "Even if your strengths are overall greater than your opponent, this one can still exploit a weakness or possess greater talent in fields you yourselves are weak against. For example, if your skill with dispelling genjutsu is not good enough it will not matter how much stronger than your opponent you are, if this on specializes in genjutsu then you will most likely lose. Or more recently, the fight with Shino and Haku, I imagine he couldn't prepare his hive in time to adapt against the cold, which resulted in them being unsuitable for his match"

"I guess that's true" Naruto admitted. Shino had been one of the best students in his class, and he was damn good. But the Aburame didn't care for boasting, so the true reach of his skills were hard to predict. "In a pure taijutsu match, there's no way I could win against Lee" That's why he had his jutsu and tactics to employ.

"Hehehe" The Swordsman from Mist chuckled as he directed a smarmy look at the jounin of team 9. "Hey Sarutobi, two down one to go huh?"

Asuma lightly glared at him; "If we were alone I'd make you eat those words. And I'll have you know my last student can handle himself, he'll get to the finals"

"It depends" Shikamaru lazily added. It wasn't said with pessimism, it was a mere observation, like he was stating a fact.

"...Come on Shikamaru, back me up a little here"

Kurenai couldn't help but giggle at the misfortune her boyfriend was going through; oh she felt horrible about it but couldn't help herself, truly.

As everything got back to normal, with Lee returning to his team. Two names appeared on the wall screen. Tenten Higarashi vs Kin Tsuchi. Upon seeing their names both young ladies glared hard at one another before leaping over the railing.

"Kick her ass Ten-chan!" Naruto cheered along with Sakura.

"You can do it!" The green beasts cheered on as one. "Tenten!"

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"Higarashi..." Kushina looked wide eyed; "Kaito's girl!" She was only one or two years old when she last saw her. "Gods she looks like her mother."

"Naruto goes to the Higarashi shop quite frequently. He and Tenten-san have become good friends." Yugao said before sipping on her glass of water.

Hearing that Kushina smiled; "How is that old bear?"

"Hasn't changed one bit."

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Kin lightly sighed in disappointment; "Here I was hoping to fight Uzumaki."

"You won't get near him," Tenten spoke threateningly as she glared, pulling out a kunai for each hand; "I'll make damn sure of that."

A predatory grin came from the Oto kunoichi's lips; "Hope you can back up those words honey."

Gemma coughed; "Are we done with the pissing match? Ready?" the two ladies nod; "Tenten Higarashi vs Kin Tsuchi, begin!"

Tenten's kunai were a blur as they slashed through the air with the intent to strike her opponent, Kin defended herself well by pulling out two kunai of her own. The weapons clashed with the sound of scrapping metal as sparks came forth as they met. Both kunoichi showed them to be of similar speed and agility, neither gained the upper hand as they traded blows.

Tenten parried away a lash as she delivered a sweeping kick to the left. Kin blocked it by raising her own leg and letting it receive the blow, it did not deter her, so she spun her right kunai in her hand and thrust it forward, aiming for the bun haired girl's chest.

Tenten quickly ducked, letting herself fall to the ground, dodging the attack and striking against her opponent's legs. Kin backed away as she threw her own kunai at her, Tenten rolled away, the blades burying themselves on the ground. And jumped back to her feet, pulling a scroll from her pouch. The item transformed into a whole different object, a sickle blade connected with a chain to a heavy iron chain.

She spun the kusarigama's chain and threw it to Kin, the chain wrapped around her body and so Tenten pulled it, dragging the Sound Nin with it. When the opponent was but a foot close to her she disappeared in a blast of smoke, leaving behind a log which, to Tenten's shock, had various bomb tags planted around it.

The explosion shook the arena but did not cause much damage, amongst the fire and smoke weapon mistress disappeared. Lee called out her name in fear while Neji stared stoically, their sensei kept a carefully guarded expression.

Out of the smoke came Tenten, skidding over the ground with a shield raised in front of her face. It had black patches over its surface and let out a trail of smoke, indicating it had taken the brunt of the damage. The bun haired girl's pants were a bit singed, a few parts of it had been torn with the explosion, but her lowering the shield showed she was otherwise relatively uninjured.

Tenten panted softly, that had been close.

"You rely on those tools too much" Her opponent called out mockingly.

The weapon mistress did not deign that with a reply, she wouldn't play her game.

But the Sound Ninja carried on; "A true kunoichi knows that she herself is the tool, everything she is, everything she has. She will use her body in any way that is necessary if it means fulfilling her mission"

Tenten knew what she was referring to; the kunoichi present knew what she was referring to. Ninja used every dirty trick in the book, including those that some men and women would prefer not to in this day and age. Seducing your way through a mission, using your body as another tool at your disposal, degrading yourself and submitting to emotional and mentally challenging tasks if it was necessary.

Shinobi in Konoha did not insult those that were brave enough to take up such tasks, indeed; to insult them was the same as insulting their entire forces, to sacrifice their dignity like that. She herself had nothing but respect for her seniors, some of those who no doubt had taken up those types of missions before. But... that was not the type of shinobi she wanted to be, not to disrespect the role some kunoichi had taken in the name of the village, but she just couldn't see herself taking up such a mission.

"That's not the type of kunoichi I am" She declared finally.

"Tch, cute" Kin scoffed in disgust. "You think you can remain 'pure' in this kind of work. You're a little girl playing to be a ninja like all of the rest... You have no idea what I've done for the sake of my mission" She shrugged as she let out a smirk. "And hey, if you have to might as well enjoy it"

Tenten exhaled and closed her eyes for a moment. "Well, that's your business, not mine" She honestly did not care for what her opponent said or did; her words meant nothing to Tenten. She was just another enemy to overcome.

Kin let out a soft growl, before pulling out various senbon between her fingers. Tenten readied herself but to her surprise Kin had thrown them to she sides of the arena. Why had she-?

Wait... she heard something. A... jiggling?

Bells! Tenten soon realized; there were tiny bells tied to the senbon. She quickly stood on alert, unsure as to what the purpose of those bells-

Tenten fell on one knee as a deep piercing ringing assaulted her ears and went straight through her eardrums. She had let go of her weapon to hold her head, trying to hold back the growing pain.

"Those bells are emitting a sound that goes straight to your brain" Kin said haughtily, and soon she appeared to multiply before the weapon mistress' eyes. "No matter what you do, you won't be able to-"

Tenten quickly pulled out a pair of kunai, fighting through the pain, and threw them at her sides. The kunai embedded themselves on the wall near the senbon, revealing the paper tags on them.

The bombs went off, destroying the senbon and the bells, ending the sound.

"Woah!" Naruto exclaimed as stands trembled as a result of the blasts.

"She's really holding her own here" Sakura said, impressed.

Kin growled in anger. "You little-!"

Tenten was already counterattacking, throwing various bombs at her opponent, who quickly backed away thinking they were explosives. The bombs did explode, but not with fire and force, but rather with a dense smoke, covering a large part of the arena.

"You think you can hide!?" Kin pulled out her own set of explosive tags. "This is the oldest trick in the book!"

She threw her explosives and these went off with great force, blasting away some of the white smoke and replacing it with the black smoke resulting of black powder being ignited. But as this one settled, Kin's eyes widened as Konoha genin was nowhere to be seen.

"What? Where-"

Tenten appeared behind her in a burst of speed, smoke clinging to her in a trail.

Kin gasped in shock. Tenten spun a long staff in her hand and struck, right at the back of Kin's head. The Sound Nin could barely do anything but gasp as the impact made everything go dark for her.

The weapon mistress lightly pants; "I can respect anyone who takes the role of a kunoichi seriously. But going after my friend, you can go to hell bitch."

Walking over, the proctor knelt down and checked Kin's pulse; "Kin Tsuchi has be rendered unconscious, Tenten Higarashi is the winner!"

Lee, Naruto, and Sakura cheered loudly, Neji only faintly smirked with their sensei now smiling giving the thumbs up.

A now conscious Ino who awoke in midst the battle watched on quietly beside Shikamaru. The lazy Nara quietly eyed her; _'Maybe Sakura did wake her up.'_ He'd never say it out loud, but he really cared for his team. And as much as he loathed the thought of training like any true Nara, he knew he had to work at his strengths to keep them up to par. _'I hope Ino paid attention to that fight. I don't like thinking about bad what if scenarios if any future missions of ours go south.'_

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Kushina leaned back on her bed; "She does rely on Weapons a bit too much." The redhead thought quietly; "Still I can trust Gai into training her right."

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Retrieving her weapons, Tenten made her way up the stairs to the balcony. She was greeted by Naruto, Sakura, and Lee. "Good job Ten-chan!"

Tenten smirked; "She was just all talk"

"TENTEN!" They winced at Gai shouting at full volume, tears streamed down from his eyes. "I am so proud of you my youthful blooming flower! You have taken one more step towards becoming a great kunoichi!" He pointed dramatically at the horizon he was seeing in his mind. "Once Neji wins, we shall all take a triumphant 100 laps celebration around Konoha!"

"Do that yourself!" Tenten was not afraid on calling out on her teacher's ridiculous antics.

"But Tenten!" Lee joined his teacher. "It is important we bond in both defeat and victory!"

"And then!" Gai continued. "We shall train for the finals! We'll start light; I'm thinking using the fifty pound weights on the first day"

 _'Count on Gai to have more enthusiasm and energy than most teenagers,'_ Kakashi weakly chuckled while the rest sweatdropped at the odd man's antics.

As Kin was whisked away by the medics, the next match got everyone's attention as two names came up. Naruto Uzumaki vs Dosu Kinuta, both Genin glared hard at one another. Feeling a hand on his shoulder Naruto glanced to Sakura. "Be careful."

The blond winks before turning and being face to face with Sasuke. Neither say anything before the Uchiha smirked; "Don't lose."

Naruto smirked back before walking down the steps; "I do have to kick your ass in the finals after all."

Sakura only deadpans at her teammates; _'Boys...'_

The Oto Jounin smirked as Dosu glanced at him before leaping over the railing. _'Impress me some more Naruto-kun...'_

Normally Shikamaru was all for calm and quiet, but Ino not saying as much as a word since waking up was actually starting to bug him; "What's on your mind Ino?"

The blond Kunoichi said nothing as she kept her eyes on the arena; "Has Naruto really changed?" Sure he actually dressed better, and was around Sasuke's height now, looking like he ate more than just ramen. But wasn't he still just the same old Naruto?

At that her teammate shrugged; "No idea." That got him a light glare; "Sure Choji and I spoke to him a bit during the academy, but that was about it. Haven't really spoken or seen him since graduation."

Ino lightly huffed before looking back down to the arena. Asuma said nothing as he had heard a few things from his father and Kakashi; ' _Just watch and see Ino, Naruto might just surprise you._ '

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"Who are these Oto guys anyway?" The redhead asked in curiosity. "They weren't around back in my day" It felt odd to refer to what to her was just a few days ago as 'her day'

Yugao shrugged; "Some minor village that's on the rise, not a lot of info on them. Honestly they're barely a threat to anyone, what we do know is that their shinobi are very ruthless, more so than the average ninja"

Kushina's gaze is steely as he son and that Oto genin soon stand at the arena center; "Kick that mummy man's ass Sochi."

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"You look like shit," Naruto snarked as he glared at Dosu.

The Oto Genin taps his bandaged chest; "I intend to return the favor Uzumaki."

"You're welcome to try."

"Naruto Uzumaki vs Dosu Kinuta. Fight!"

Naruto wasted no time, immediately going through the handsigns motions he planted his right foot forward. Sending a trail of crystals which grew out like spikes from the ground directly at Dosu.

The bandaged genin made no attempt to evade, he merely brought his gauntlet arm in front of him a delivered a sweeping strike the moment the crystals were close.

The blonde's blue eyes widened as he broke through them with that one move, leaving broken pieces on the ground.

"What the...?" Was his gauntlet made of materials that strong that they could shatter his Shoton with ease?

The Oto genin shot forward with blurring speed, his armed hand brought to bear. Naruto quickly formed a staff and brought it down on his enemy, the Sound genin blocked it with his arm, making the crystal crack before breaking the staff in half with a palm strike from his left hand.

Dosu quickly followed suit with a knee attack straight for the stomach, Naruto's thin crystal protection beneath his clothes resisted, but the impact was enough to send waves of pain around his midsection.

Yet Naruto could still hear a very faint sound, almost like that of a whistle.

As Dosu threw another punch, the blonde reacted fast and grabbed his arm, twisting his body as he threw the Sound Nin over his shoulder, but he avoided being slammed into the ground and broke free, jumping back to gain some distance.

With several handsigns from Naruto, crystal hummingbirds soon formed and shot forward towards his opponent. Dosu swiped his arm as soon as the crystal constructs were within range. They broke down and fell to the ground in pieces; he had not even touched them...

Naruto's suspicions were confirmed, that ringing he heard, and Dosu had to be using some kind of sound technique in a frequency that could shatter his crystals. Getting his crystals close to him would not be very effective in the long run, and trying to get close himself would also put him at risk, as he figured Dosu would could perform techniques that would horribly damage his ear if his proficiency with his sound techniques was as good as he feared.

Crossing his fingers, Naruto summoned four clones that quickly surrounded the sound Nin, charging at him from all sides. Four different strikes stopped him in his tracks, but his body bursted into smoke, revealing a log. His clones look on in surprise as a kunai embedded itself on the clone, a bomb tag strapped to it.

It lit up, and the clones were obliterated with the blast.

Looking at all sides, Naruto tried to find where Dosu had disappeared, his senses screamed danger as he heard a noise from above. Dosu was hanging upside down from the ceiling, and had thrown various bombs at him.

Rather than fire, light came from them in a blinding burst. Making Naruto cry out in pain as he tightly shut his eyes and pressed a hand against his face, trying to ease the burning sensation the light had produced. He grunted as he struggled to open them, everything was now a blur.

Dosu descended from the ceiling with great speed, and delivered a drop kick that knocked out Naruto's breath and forced him on his back. Naruto managed to react fast enough to use his hands and hold back the second foot which nearly crushed his throat.

Dosu sneered under his bandages; "One of us is going to die today Uzumaki. Question is though; can you kill me before I kill you?"

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Neji narrowed his eyes watching the match intensely; "The Oto has been going for a killing blow against Uzumaki since their match started." He glanced briefly over to Hinata who was watching the match intensely.

Shino adjusted his glasses; "They're even skill-wise. So it can go either way."

Yugito lightly tapped the railing; "He's goading Naruto." Samui nodded along with Kakashi who overheard.

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"Once I go to the finals" He smiled sadistically behind his bandages. "I am going to kill each. And. Every. Last. One" He put more force behind his foot with each word. Naruto gagged at the pressure. "Of your friends"

The Uzumaki glared with rage filled eyes, the blur was gone and he could clearly see the face of his enemy, he could see in his eyes just how deep that twisted sense of satisfaction went. Hurting others, killing people, making others suffer just because it amused him.

Just like Gatou...

Dosu grabbed the blonde's head and began honing the frequency of his gauntlet to pierce his eardrums; he'd make him suffer before him finally-

One of Naruto's hands released Dosu's foot and grabbed the grabbed the gauntlet.

"What?!"

It didn't make sense, a moment ago he was struggling to keep his windpipe from being crushed, and now he could feel how he was starting to push him with just one hand!

He swore he saw the Uzumaki's blue eyes flash red for a moment.

Naruto growled in anger. People like him... People like him pissed him off so much, bragging about how much pain they'd bring, acting like they were above consequences, toying with lives like nothing.

Already they had tried to kill his friends before; he wouldn't let it happen again.

A spike of crystal shoots from his hand and pierced the gauntlet, cutting through skin and muscle, drawing a pained gargle from the bandaged ninja.

Then Naruto pushed him away with such force Dosu rolled on the ground for a few feet.

The Oto Nin hissed as he pulled out the spike of crystal out his arm and got to his feet. He growled seeing his ruined gauntlet. "People like you," Naruto growled out, "you're worse than scum!" Dosu had zero time to react as the blond vanished and reappeared in front of him with a dark crimson version of the Rasengan in hand. " _SHUI RASENGAN_!"

Ramming his jutsu in the same spot as before but with more hellish intensity, Dosu screamed in agony before being fired off like a spiraling cannonball into the wall with such force he's embedded deep within the cement.

Gaara looked wide eyed. What did he just feel just now? That chakra was like...

Jiraiya looked wide eyed; _'A Rasengan infused with the Kyuubi's chakra.'_ His eyes looked over to the Oto genin, now motionless with a large circular hole in his chest where his heart should be. _'Results speak for themselves.'_

The proctor glanced at Naruto whose eyes were shadowed by his bangs. "Winner by fatality. Naruto Uzumaki."

His breathing was a slow pant as Naruto lifted his head; his cerulean eyes were slit for a millisecond before turning back to normal. He said nothing as he stared at the lifeless body of his opponent.

He didn't... No, he couldn't say he didn't want this. Dosu had threatened his friends, nearly killed them before, and was going do it with a gods damned smile on his face. Naruto wanted him gone, he wanted to kill him.

He had been angry, yes. But this wasn't like that time on the bridge where the rage and the surge of power had blinded him, this had been his choice, he had a clear enough head to know this was what he had wanted to do.

Did he regret it? No... Naruto couldn't say he did. But still, to have killed him like this. So gruesomely and so mercilessly it... Gods it left a very bad taste on his mouth.

He tried to steel himself in the face of it all, ignoring the looks of shock and even fear among some of the spectators. He took a deep breath and let it all go. He was a ninja now; this was the life he chooses.

Hiruzen tipped his hat; _'this life is hard Naruto, and the killing is never easy my boy. Living with it can be even harder. As much as I'd rather you never stain your hands with blood. You made the decision to become a ninja. Why I know you will overcome it. Like a true shinobi.'_

Kiba was several shades paler as he gawked; "Damn..." Akamaru on barked lightly, okay so Naruto maybe really had changed since the academy. But damn that was brutal…

Hinata's eyes were wide as she covered her mouth; Shino's eyes narrowed at the scene. Ino and Shikamaru only looked at the scene with a touch of fear upon seeing one their graduation classmates kill someone in front of them. ' _Glad Choji is still out, he might have thrown up._ ' Shikamaru mentally muttered.

A very cold chill went up the Yamanaka's heiress' spine, ' _I-Is he really the same Naruto?_ '

Zabuza on his part gave a small nod of approval and a notch of respect for the kid least having the willingness to kill an enemy. ' _No hesitation and he's not shaking. Hope for this generation after all._ '

Kouhei and Chojuru both only grimaced at the sight. Zabuza-sensei made damn sure they were used to killing enemies during some missions against bandits. As unpleasant as it was, it was part of shinobi life, and they had accepted it.

Haku only gazed down at the blond Uzumaki with understanding and empathy radiating from her warm eyes. ' _You did it to protect those precious to you. Never forget that Naruto-Kun._ '

The Oto Jounin's smile grew more malicious; _'Magnificent...'_

Kumo remained indifferent with their more militaristic upbringing having been drilled into them made the group adjusted to killing.

Sakura and Sasuke only looked to their blond teammate as Kakashi was now by his side. The Jounin placed his hand on his student's shoulder. "Naruto..." his voice quiet, calm.

"Does it... It doesn't get easier does it?" the blond asked quietly, his eyes fixed on the corpse of Dosu being pulled out from the wall.

His Jounin sensei let out a small breath, "I don't think it's supposed to. When it does, that's when we stop being human, and become the very thing we hate." Kakashi's ANBU days taught him that lesson harshly. Both heading up the balcony.

"Naruto" Sakura called out to him in concern. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah…" He breathed out watching as they removed Dosu's body in a body bag. "I'll be fine"

"Hmph" Sasuke grunted. "He actively tried to you kill you before, us, and so you killed him. It was fitting"

"It's more complicated than that" The blonde refuted. "I… I didn't want him to hurt you, any of you"

The Uchiha still believed in the self-preservation aspect of it all, but the need to protect something, well, that was not something he was familiar with. Understood it? Perhaps. But no, he couldn't say he had felt the same before. Sasuke lived for the chance at killing… him, it never crossed his mind to risk his life and bring an end to others because they threaten something important to him.

He didn't have any important left in his life…

Onyx eyes stared at the rest of his team, at Sakura and Kakashi man who were currently accompanying Naruto in this trying time.

…did he?

While they had been lost in their own personal moment, the new names had been selected without them realizing.

"Oh no" Tenten muttered in dread.

Naruto and his teammates frowned in confusion. Was one of the contenders Gaara? Had been selected to fight against one of their peers?

A look at the name revealed to them that was not the case, yet it did not make the situation any less worrisome.

Neji Hyuuga vs Hinata Hyuuga

Shit…

The Jinchuuriki's eyes widened as he looked at the Hyuugas in question. Hinata was her fidgety self, looking more afraid than ever. Neji's gaze seemed to have gained an edge to it.

"Not Kumo then?" He said, seemingly disregarding the prospect that Hinata was his opponent. "Disappointing" And was about to jump down until his sensei stopped him.

"Neji" Gai's tone was so… serious. Without any of the excitable jubilation or energy nearly always found in his voice. His face was set in stone. He was acting so out of character it was honestly frightening. "Remember, self-control, discipline. This is just another fight"

If the Hyuuga took his words into consideration he did not show it, he had merely paused in his steps momentarily before jumping down to the arena.

Hinata nervously held her hands in front of her chest. The poor girl looked like she did not know what to do.

"Hinata" The warm tone of her teacher made her turn to see her kind eyes and smile, she grasped her hands gently. "You can do this"

"Hell yeah!" Kiba cheered her on. "He's just an arrogant ass"

"You are just as capable of achieving victory" Shino added. "Why? Because you too are very skilled"

The words of encouragement from her friends seemed to invigorate her, filling her with the confidence she lacked.

"Come on Hinata!" Naruto threw his support as well, offering her his typical smile. "You can do it!"

His efforts seemed to have worked, as Hinata smiled softly and nodded her gratitude to her friends and comrades. She hopped down from stands to the arena, though encourage, she couldn't shake off the feelings of doubt and hesitation.

She didn't want to fight Neji…

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Kushina gripped the sheets tightly, fighting down every urge and instinct she had of going right there and hugging the two kids with all the strength she could muster.

One more death she was told about, another friend dead.

"Hizashi…" She muttered mournfully.

All because of fucking Kumo once again playing their hand, making demands they had no rights to.

She blamed everyone, Kumo for their transgression. The Hyuuga elders, too arrogant and stuck in their ways, seeing Hizashi's death as preferable, at Sarutobi for just bowing head to that village's ridiculous demands.

Blaming someone made the pain easier to bear… much like young Neji was most likely doing right now.

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Both Hyuuga stood in front of each other, Hinata's gaze was one of sympathy and acceptance at what was going to happen. Neji's on the other had… the way he looked at her.

"He hates her…" Sasuke muttered.

"Hmm?" Sakura turned to him in confusion.

"Look at how he's looking at her. That's hatred in his eyes"

Naruto realized Sasuke was right, those eyes… that gaze was similar to the one some of the villagers would give him sometimes. One that carried pain and anger, directed at someone they believed was the source. Someone they could blame.

Naruto knew Neji hated the Main house of the Hyuuga but… he actually hated Hinata too? She was just a child when the tragedy happened, so had nearly been a victim of a kidnapping attempt.

But Neji didn't care, to Neji; Hinata was embodiment of all he hated.

Hayate raised his hand. "Neji Hyuuga vs Hinata Hyuuga... Begin!"

Neji didn't hesitate to take down his cousin, running forward and throwing a fast striking palm at Hinata. Though even with his ruthless intentions to destroy his cousin, he was not going to destroy her so easily, as she ducked under the strike and swung her arm up against his side, their arms becoming a flurry of movement.

Matching her speed, Neji turned his body back and to the side, dodging the brunt of her strike and fluidly striking with his other arm, hitting her dead on in the ribs with two fingers. Hinata ignored the pain as she drew back from the strike and smacks his arm to the side, stepping forward with a powerful palm thrust to his chest.

This was a shock to Neji, who expected her to yell out from his strike and back off, only to be taken by surprise and blast by a powerful wave of chakra to his chest and making him step back, unbalanced and almost falling from the sudden push. Before he could recover, Hinata was on him again, this time going for a double strike into his stomach.

Neji slammed his hands down onto Hinata's arms, using them as leverage to get his feet. His cousin's strike now deflected, he struck her shoulder as hard as he could with his palm, making in pain, ready to receive his next two strikes, one into her other shoulder and the other into her arm, which was coming up to toss his first two finger strike off her. His pinpoint strikes causing some damage as she held her arm close, backing off.

"So that's the Hyuuga's taijutsu style" Sakura said out loud.

Lee spook up, "It's called Juken, A truly deadly combination their dojutsu with their ability to close off chakra points with their strikes" They witnessed as Hinata struck her own arm, reawakening said points.

Going on the offensive, Neji strikes with vigor with blasts of chakra coming from his palms, though Hinata was somehow more skilled than he originally predicted. She smacked his first strike away before spinning under his next strike and blocking the third aiming for her head, throwing her own up to his chin.

Kurenai lightly bit the tip of her thumb.

Dodging the strike at his neck, he swings under it and throws his next strike into her arm that was aimed to hit him. The counter-attack Neji gave Hinata effectively stopped her from hitting him full on, but with a chakra infused strike grazing his arm, she did the damage she wanted before smacking the arm away from her, though the strike to her upper arm made it spasm from the movement and she gasped in pain, backing off and holding her arm, relaxing it to let it calm down.

Though this was a bad move on her part to stop her assault, as Neji came in full force with a flurry of pinpoint strikes to her arms and shoulders, cutting into her with devastating and powerful chakra infused finger attacks.

With a final thrust of his palm, Neji blasted Hinata back, making her fall. Blood hits the ground as the young heiress coughs heavily. For her older cousin he lightly catches his breath.

Neji shook his head; "Your skills have improved Hinata-Sama, but the results are still the same. A failure cannot change. That's your fate"

Neji's eyes only widen as Hinata slowly stands back to her feet. Blood drips from her lips as her left hand holds her chest. Her breaths raspy and shallow as her eyes look just as determined. A far cry from the shy girl.

"Nii-san… I know… you hate me" Hinata covers her mouth as she coughs. Lowering her hand, she looks mournfully at her cousin; she was struggling to remain standing and was a breeze away from fainting. "But I want you to know… I love you and admire you greatly, nii-san… You're my family"

Those words snap something in Neji's mind as his fists clench.

Family… what a joke, the Main House had no concept of what that word meant. To Neji, the words that came out from her were nothing but insults and jeers thrown at his direction and the entire Branch house.

His calm mask shattered showing absolute rage. He sprints forward with his right two fingers raised, ready to strike down his own flesh and blood.

The Hyuuga was stopped in his advance by Hayate holding him back, "Enough" The proctor ordered, watching as Hinata hit the ground. "She's already defeated, the winner is Neji Hyuuga!"

Kurenai was at her side immediately, accompanied by Kiba and Shino, holding the girl in her arms. "Are you alright?"

Hinata rasped for breath; "Did I… do good, sensei?"

Her sensei was both sad and proud. "You did amazing"

Hinata could only smile through bloodied lips before coughing up more blood.

"Medic nin now!"

Moving away to let the medics do their thing; Naruto came down to the floor and glared over to Neji. "You were going to kill her!" He accused.

"Really, Uzumaki?" He condescendingly retorted. " _You_ are going to lecture me about killing an opponent?"

Though those words did in fact affect him, Naruto did not let it show. "She's your cousin and you were just going to kill her when she was clearly about to fall down!"

"The fight continued on, I merely exercised my right to make sure she was down"

The Inuzuka snarled with all the fury of a wolf, taking a threatening stop forward along with Naruto before both were stopped by Shino who put his hands on their shoulders.

"A time and a place, Kiba, Naruto-san," The Aburame spoke, calm as ever.

Both boys were forced to swallow their anger. "One way or another I am fighting you in the third exam. And I swear I am going beat your ass." The blonde promised. Hinata did not deserve the hatred her cousin directed at her.

"You can try Uzumaki" With the final word, the Hyuuga made his way back to the stands, were he casually endured the accusing gaze of his teammates.

Gai looked at him with something beyond disappointment. "I did _not_ teach you this"

"You're right on that account, sensei" His tone expressed he held little respect for his so called 'teacher'. "After all, you only focus on Lee. I learnt nothing from you, but I did not need to anyway"

"Neji…" Tenten growled out. "I thought you were better than this" Lee could only look sadly, no more than ever they could feel how much they had utterly failed to reach his teammate.

The fact Neji looked like he didn't even care what any of them thought of him told them how true that was.

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 **Till next time folks!**


	22. Hidden legacy as the curtain calls

**Disclaimer** : We do not own Naruto

 **Co-author and beta** : Etheral-23

 **Chapter 22: Prelims Act 3 'Hidden legacy as the curtain calls'**

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As Kushina sat in her medical bed, she bore witness in sheer disbelief of Hizashi's only son had nearly committed Familicide of Hitomi's oldest daughter. Her mind couldn't comprehend the sight of seeing family wanting to slay another member of their family. To an Uzumaki that went against her clan's core founding principles.

Yugao only gazed at the screen with both sadness and disappointment. "He lashes out with his anger blindly. Even against someone who did him no wrong. If allowed to let that hate fester he will endanger himself and his team."

Her sensei did not reply as her violet eyes held nothing but sadness, ' _Why did everything have go so wrong…_ '

However she knew as much as she wanted to do something, Hiashi wouldn't allow it. It was a Hyuuga clan matter and had to be dealt by the clan itself. But clearly not a single damn thing has been done up to this point which allowed this messed up bullshit to happen!

With a clinched fist, Kushina simply growled; ' _Things will be made right. I promise you Hitomi, Hizashi…_ '

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Anko grunted as she frowned; "Well that was fucked up…" Ibiki only gave a slight nod as he grimly observed the crew taking the Hyuuga heiress away for medical. His eyes soon gazed up to one responsible.

Beside those two Jiraiya scowled deeply with his arms crossed; "I knew things with the Hyuuga were edgy at best. But looks like it's only has been getting worse between the main and branch houses."

The old Sarutobi could feel his former student's eyes on him. "What do you want me to do Jiraiya?" The Hokage said with exasperation. "I can't directly interfere with clan traditions, which is exactly the root of the problem with the Hyuuga"

"I know sensei. I just hope they wake up before they destroy each other," Jiraiya says grimly. "There is enough hate in the world as it is. This generation should never have to pay for our mistakes."

Hiruzen felt responsible for the situation. He had been weak those years ago, when Kumo had tried to kidnap Hiashi's oldest, and the man had caught him on the act and killed him.

Kumo had the gall to act outraged, and demanded a pair of Byakugan eyes as reparation on the threat of war... and Hiruzen had conceded, he was so tired of war he just agreed with their baseless demands.

And now, upon seeing the son of the man who had sacrificed himself instead of his twin, seeing Neji ruthlessly injure and ready to kill his own younger cousin for his own failures. It was all the more reason he knew he needed to retire.

He sighed, feeling the burden of his mistakes weighing down on him. His student couldn't help but see him age decades more right before his eyes with how tired he sounded. "I'm old Jiraiya..." Hiruzen said. "The village needs someone younger, someone who isn't burdened by so many years of struggle, a Hokage who can do what must be done without fear..."

The Gama-sannin grunted; "We both know I can't do it for obvious reasons. The brat is not even remotely ready yet. ' _Red_ ' does not have the temperament. And Kakashi is still trying to pick up the pieces of himself."

"Which is why we may have to do something drastic when the exam is over," Hiruzen gave his student a knowing look for which Jiraiya's jaw almost dropped.

"You-You don't mean..." Jiraiya spoke, stuttering. "Sensei she'll never come back!"

The elderly Hokage gave his student a long dry gaze; "I think we both know, ' _Red_ ' will have her own opinion in that matter, whether she likes it or not." His former student simply paled.

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Naruto couldn't stop himself from scowling as he lingered a piercing glare over to Neji who simply gazed back at him with unflinching cold apathy. As if his eyes spoke; ' _I'd gladly do it all over again. And finish the job._ ' The blond felt his temper building again till he received a light bonk to his head. He looked up seeing Kakashi stern eye.

"Enough Naruto, this won't help Hinata or yourself if you pick a fight with Neji now you will only get disqualified from the exams."

By the blond's glare in response he cared very little about the exam. Internally Kakashi sighed; ' _He can't really help it being an Uzumaki. But I won't let his temper get the best of him. He can be angry at me all day for all I care._ '

However before Kakashi could speak again, Sakura grabbed Naruto by the shoulders and made him look at her. The blond blinked at the strong jade eyes glaring at him. No word was spoken as both stared at each other before Naruto sighed as he lowered his head.

Sasuke lifted a brow; ' _We can be thankful Sakura can keep Naruto calm at least._ '

The rosette let go as Naruto gave her a nod and rested his arms on the railing. "Sorry about that. I mean, I knew things were bad with Hyuugas. Least what I overheard from Jiji, but that was…"

Granted he did not know Hinata that well or at all really. She was always so damn shy and quiet, but he could say she did not treat him like their class did during the academy days. Even if they weren't friends, his blood boiled seeing her own kin blatantly tried to kill her.

"Whatever you overheard from the Hokage will never be the whole story," Kakashi said quietly. "Their elders and traditions have been their foundations for too long. But at the same time it is those things that are causing such a rift between the main family and the branch family."

Sasuke crosses his arms on the railing; "Even I heard some things about it. But since the Hyuuga keeps matters like that private. We don't really have a clue just how bad it really is." His eyes narrowed; "But I won't condone what Neji did to Hinata was justified. If you want to take your rage out on someone it should be who you're really mad at." It was just pointless to get mad at someone who wasn't even responsible.

"And he's mad at the entire Main Branch" Sakura adds. "I don't think there is someone in particular"

"In any case, watch your backs if you face him. Like you Sasuke he was last year's rookie of the year and is considered a genius among his clan. None of you must take him lightly," Kakashi says sternly.

All three nodded as the board lighted up again. Everyone watched as two names appeared with varied reactions.

Shikamaru Nara vs Sabaku no Temari.

Upon seeing his name the Nara let out a long throaty noise; "Oh great, my match comes right after all that gloom and doom."

Chouji who had finally woken up simply shook his head while eating some chips. Asuma just sighed while Ino, being the sole motivator of the team smacked Shika in the head; "Oh hush up and get down there you lazy ass!"

"Troublesome…"

On the opposite side Temari smirked; "Well about damn time." She leapt over the railing onto the arena floor. While to her utter annoyance her opponent slowly came down the stairs. "I doubt any of us want to be in this damn tower all day! Let me just kick your ass so we can go about our own business."

"Do all you blondes seriously have hair trigger tempers?" Shikamaru dryly muttered as every blond in the arena felt their collective eyes twitch as they glared. "Plus I get to fight a woman. The joy never ends" Shikamaru spoke dryly. Not noticing or caring that now all the current women in the arena directed their anger right towards him.

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Kushina felt her eye twitch; "He is definitely Shikaku'a brat." Right down to the damn dry smart-ass attitude. To this day she never understood just what Yoshino saw in that man to marry that lazy bum. But then again her own choice in men was just as odd.

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Temari slowly smirked. "You're going down"

"Yeah, yeah" Shikamaru said disinterestedly, which made Temari grunt with anger at her opponent's downright lazy attitude.

Hayate coughed some before he spoke; "Shikamaru Nara vs Temari no Sabaku. Begin!"

"I surrender." Shikamaru uttered the mere second the proctor called for the match to start.

Everyone in the arena, save Gaara and the Oto Jounin face faulted. In medical ward the ANBU guards heard a loud thump. They quickly came into the room only to sweatdrop seeing both their former captain and current lying face first on the floor.

It took a few seconds before Naruto was back up along with an irate Ino; "WHAT THE HELL SHIKA!?" The two loudest blonds of Konoha bellowed.

"Tch, it's too troublesome to fight right now"

"THAT'S YOUR EXCUSE FOR EVERYTHING!"

Temari on her part growled; "Are you that scared or are you just mocking me!"

Shikamaru just looks at her tiredly. "Man, you're so loud..." He groaned as he rubbed his neck, which only infuriated the Suna-nin further.

As everyone else soon regained their composure and got back to their feet, Hayate sighed; "Winner Sabaku no Temari."

The Suna kunoichi only seethed as her lazy opponent walked back up to his team. Asuma groaned as he defectively rubbed his hands over his face. He understood Shikamaru's reasoning, her opponent had the edge on range given her weapon of choice and the Nara lacked the necessary speed to dodge constantly, being always on the move wouldn't allow him to employ his shadow techniques properly. Not to mention the arena wasn't the most suitable for Shikamaru to come up with a plan to defeat his opponent fast enough. Taking all that into account, his students' odds of success were very poor and Shikamaru had known this, so he surrendered.

Doesn't mean Asuma was happy about it…

Kakashi chuckled; "Well that's three for three Asuma."

"OH SHUT UP HATAKE!"

Naruto and his team just glared at Shikamaru as he came up the stairs. "Your mom's gonna get you for this you know that right?" Naruto deadpanned.

Shikamaru slumps; "I know... But at least I can tell her I passed the second stage. Tch, though that would be even more troublesome too." He retorted; which prompted Naruto to bang his head on the railing, Sasuke face palmed while Sakura's eye twitched.

The Kumo and Kiri teams just looked at him; "How can he be that lazy?"

"You don't know many Nara do you?" Kakashi dryly spoke up.

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Finally after everyone settled down and Temari growled her way back to her team. New names came from the monitor.

Sabaku no Kankuro vs Omoi

Rolling his lollipop in his mouth the Kumo Nin sighed; "Oh joy... Well wish me luck" He mumbled to his teammates. "Not that it'll help at all because I'm gonna lose anyway..."

Samui rubbed her eyes while Yugito groaned. Karui on her part slapped the back of Omoi's head; "Oh shape up! Go down there and whip that cross dresser's ass!"

"It's a traditional Suna puppeteer outfit!" Came a righteous bellow from the other side of the arena.

Naruto shouted back; "And the clown make-up?!"

"THAT'S WAR PAINT ASSHOLE!" a pronounce tick-mark forms on Kankuro's head shaking his fist.

Temari thought to mention his brother tended to borrow her makeup when he ran out of his 'war paint', but decided he had been teased enough. The Suna Genin grumbled all the way down the stairs while his opponent leapt over the balcony.

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Kushina was versed in Suna's traditions and was well aware of their gear like the outfit young Kankuro was wearing. Puppet Nin of Suna were both widely feared and respected throughout the nations. She even recalled a certain old hag that was one of the true masters of the craft. But it did not stop her from laughing her head off; "I can't believe they still have those! He looks like a cat!" Yugao just simply rubbed her eyes at her sensei's antics.

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"Omoi vs Sabaku no Kankuro, Begin!" Hayate leapt from the arena.

Kankuro quickly toke out the large strapped object behind his back with a predatory smirk. Omoi tensed and drew his sword. The Kumo Nin held his weapon at the ready, he was no fool, and Suna puppet masters are adept at long range. If he was going to have any way of winning, he'd have to be smart.

The straps on the puppet suddenly were set loose; they unfurl and fall revealing a rather creepy looking marionette in Omoi's opinion. It was covered in a dirty brown cloak, had several limbs, wild fake hair, three soulless eyes and sharp metallic teeth coming from the hanging jaw.

Sakura lightly shivered; "That is a creepy doll."

"Suna have a long tradition of using puppetry techniques" Kakashi explained as he read his book. "It looks like this kid follows said tradition"

"Puppets?" Sasuke snorted. "Seriously?"

"You underestimate how powerful they can be in the right hands Sasuke"

Back down to the arena, Kankuro smirked; "Think you can take on Karasu?"

Omoi shrugs. "Not really, think it's more likely I'll lose this fight without you breaking as much as a sweat" The team from Kumo collectively face palm, loudly.

Kankuro just stared. "...While I like my opponents to realize how pointless it is to fight my against me, I can't help but ask; is there any anti-depressive medication you should be taking?"

Karui yelled out; "Idiot says there are spy seals in them!"

"Of course there are spy seals in them; you can't see them because they're very tiny and are on the pills!"

Yugito holds up a small bottle and read the tiny writing on it. "Hmm, says side effects include paranoia..." She mumbled to herself.

Both Naruto and Sakura just gawk while Sasuke feels his eye twitching. Neji and Tenten only sighed. Haku just blinked; "I… don't know how to react."

Samui rolled her eyes. "Focus on the fight Omoi, that guy has already began his attack"

"He's wha-Holy crap!" He shouted as he narrowly dodged the Karasu puppet, which flew right above him.

Omoi's eyes narrowed as he dodged more strikes from Karasu; flipping over the puppet he saw a small opening and charged forward to Kankuro.

The Sand ninja swiftly moved his hands; Omoi could see blue threads of chakra dancing in the air. He felt something moving behind him at top speed. He planted his feet onto the ground and jumped, letting Karasu pass right beneath him, avoiding its attack.

"Let me guess. The fact that Puppet master are long range fighters you figured going to close quarters would be a weakness for me," Kankuro said smugly. "Sorry to inform that my Karasu can be faster than most ninjas, and I've got some tricks up my sleeve"

"You're wearing cat pajamas, what you going to do? Throw cat nip at him," Naruto just could not stop himself. His words prompting his mother in her room watching, Sakura, and Haku to giggle.

Growing a tick mark at the remark from the blonde, Kankuro just focused on the fight at hand, as his hands fly in front of him, his puppet coming up to block the sword strike from Omoi, who had gotten close due to Kankuro being slightly distracted.

As he swiftly moved his hand, his puppet came up to block the sword strike from Omoi who had gotten close enough to attack. The Kumo Nin dodged backwards when the puppet started to spin rapidly, it's limbs flying around like a tornado. Omoi was forced backwards even further when Karasu leapt for him, blades coming out of flailing arms, slicing through many directions. Jumping back, Omoi blocked the hidden arm blades rising to meet him.

With nothing but his wits about him, the young swordsman ducked the next charge from the puppet, and jumped up soon after, flipping back and cutting down at the puppet when it coma back to Kankuro, the rags of the puppet were cut off, some shreds of cloth floated to the ground. Dodging to the side, Omoi blocked the swinging body with his blade and sprinted for Kankuro, hoping to outrun the flying wooden construct under the Suna ninja's control.

The notion was outrageous, as well as foolhardy, as Kankuro's hands were fasten, the magic of his technique apparent before the audience when Karasu grabs hold of Omoi's arm and flung around, using momentum to toss the Kumo Nin to the ground and to the side.

"Damn that guy is good," Naruto muttered as he and the others watch.

Kakashi gave a nod; "Never underestimate anyone. Suna is renowned for their puppet ninja for a reason."

"Classic long range against close range battle. It comes down to who's more experienced in their short time of being shinobi," Asuma spoke up lighting cigarette.

Karui growled; "Come on... Come on!"

Getting up quickly, Omoi had little time to react to the next blow, as the puppet screamed at him from above with its clicking parts. Pushing to the side, he dodged the body slam the puppet attempted, and instantly targets his opponent's weapon. Being a user of tools, Kankuro knew one thing; the weapon was only as good as the user, take away the weapon and he's vulnerable!

The puppet suddenly breaks apart, and all of its limbs fly around Omoi like a tornado of death. Kankuro grins. "Let's paint the floor with your blood, sound better?"

Karasu's limbs fling at the Kumo swordsman, who jumped away from the initial strike and cuts the limbs away, slashing for every time Karasu's broken body tried to strike him.

Samui rubbed her chin; "I see no flaws in this Kankuro's moves. He trained hard to be this good."

On the other side of the balcony Temari crosses her arms; "That Kumo guy is good. But he can't beat Kankuro."

Baki nodded in agreement while Gaara only stared at Naruto and Yugito, the fight did not interest him.

Damn it... Omoi grunted. ' _Can't keep this up forever, I need to get close and finish this_.' He reaches into his pouch and pulls up three smoke bombs.

Hiruzen nods approvingly; "This is interesting."

"These kids just keep getting better and better," Jiraiya smirks.

Omoi quickly tried to close the distance between himself and Kankuro. The puppeteer smirks and quickly moved Karasu to intercept him, all limbs assembling the puppet's body once more, Omoi throws the smoke bombs just as he feels the puppet approaching. They explode into a large grey cloud, covering nearly the entire lower portion of the arena.

' _Shit_!' the Sand-nin curses. ' _Can't see anything_!' He moves Karasu close to him for protection.

Up on the balcony, the others share similar thoughts. "What's going on down there?" Sakura murmured.

Sasuke activates his Sharingan. "Omoi is trying to get him from behind" He whispered so only his teammates heard him. The rosette and blond mentally cheered for the Kumo-nin.

The sound of a blade piercing through something reached their ears, the smoke cleared to reveal Omoi, standing behind Kankuro, his sword piercing the puppeteer's stomach.

"Got him!" Karui cheered.

"Wait..." Yugito stopped her celebration, her cat-like blue eyes narrowing. "Something's not right" On the other side of the stands she could see Temari smirking.

From Kankuro's midsection flows no blood, in fact, the only thing they can see are splinters of wood. The shock on Kankuro's face, or what looked like Kankuro, vanishes when chips of wood fell off its face, the skin turning into shreds of cloth and tearing as the face of a puppet became visible. As Omoi sensed the danger of this, he tries to pull back, only to be grabbed by the arms of the puppet, which looked like a weird anatomy on a human-like Kankuro if it were truly him.

The face turned to Omoi as he tries to pull back harder, and the puppet just made clicking sounds before Omoi sensed someone behind him. Looking back, he saw the fist of the Suna ninja going for his jaw. As it hits, his head recoils and turned to the puppet, whose head collides against the ninja's. The puppet's final strike pushes Omoi back and out of the puppet's clutches as he falls to the ground, knocked out.

Kankuro floated the puppet to rest on his back as he grins, looking to the people who doubted him. The puppet points to them with its head turned with Kankuro's. "Don't underestimate a Puppet Master"

Hayate was immediately on the scene as he knelt down to the unconscious Omoi. "Omoi is unable to battle. Winner Sabaku no Kankuro!"

Quickly his team along with Naruto and Sakura ran down to check on their Kumo friend. Kankuro only smirked which made Karui growl at him till she heard the low groan of her teammate waking up.

"How are you feeling?" Yugito asked gently.

"Am I dead?" His question prompted his red haired teammate to smack him in the head; she didn't care if she only added more damage.

"What do you think idiot!?"

"Well, you're here, so yeah, this must be hell"

* * *

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

* * *

Kushina only sweatdrops watching the red haired Kumo girl smacking her teammate; "And I thought Konoha was full of weirdoes." All the while ignoring the dry look from Yugao.

* * *

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

* * *

Temari grinned at her brother as he returned to the stands with the rest of their team. "Good thing you won, you would have shamed the village otherwise"

"Ahhh so little faith in me sis?" He teased her right back. "Come on admit it, I did awesome back there"

"Pfft, against that guy? Please beating somebody like him isn't an achievement, much less one that warrants praise"

The killing intent coming off from Kumo's team was easily brushed off by Suna's, in fact; they reveled in antagonizing their opponents. Baki ordered his team to keep quiet and stop aggravating the competition.

Samui too did the same. "Don't let them get to you. You did your best Omoi" Her gaze suddenly darkened; "But your best was not good enough, I'm gonna have to rectify that"

The lollipop chewer paled significantly. "Aww shit..."

"Hey you have it coming" Yugito scolded him with her arms crossed. "Losing like that? Shameful"

The teams familiar with them chattered amicably amongst themselves, all the while Suna's team discussed the performance of Kankuro's fight. Gaara had barely paid attention; he had not even bothered to acknowledge his brother's presence with even a single look since he returned to their side, and this was all boring him terribly. He could feel the need to draw blood crawling up his spine like a shiver, but knew he had to contain himself and wait for his match.

His eyes shifted back over to Uzumaki, that power he felt coming from the blonde during his match with that Oto Genin. It felt familiar to him. He had smirked, if only faint at the sight of seeing Uzumaki killing his opponent, but it had ended too quickly for his taste. The blond should have made his opponent suffer more, tore his enemy's body apart screaming in agony. Reveling in the massacre of it...

Gaara's thoughts were halted as the wall monitor came up with two new names. Sabaku no Gaara vs Ringo Kouhei, at that a dark smile formed on the Suna Nin.

On the opposite side Kouhei cheered; "About damn time!" He chuckled as he popped his knuckles. "Let's show these folks how it's really done."

His two teammates did not share his enthusiasm; "Do not underestimate him for a second," Haku said in her big sister like tone.

"Seriously," Naruto leaned over beside the Hyoton user; "Watch. Your. Ass. Remember the chat in the forest about that guy."

Their concern was met with a roll of the eyes; "Yes mom and dad, I will be careful." With that he leapt over the railing.

* * *

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

* * *

Kushina kept her eyes on the screen; "Kirigakure no Sato..."

"They have come a long way from being the bloody mist," Yugao said having had informed her sensei of the rebellion and new Kage ruling in the hidden mist village.

"A woman Kage huh? Heh, finally" The redhead smirked proudly, as though the achievement was her own. "Was about time one held the title, and goes to show what we can do huh?"

"Indeed" Her apprentice.

Kushina sniffed, the air of smugness around her only got denser. "I remember when I set out to become Hokage, nearly did it too but I passed it down"

"...Sensei who are you trying to fool here?" Yugao deadpanned. "I'm in the ANBU, Sarutobi-sama himself said he considered you for one second, and then couldn't stop laughing for the next full minute"

The smugness vanished as soon as it came. "Well you don't have to be so blunt about it..." She grumbled.

* * *

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Chojuro adjusted his glasses in concern beside Haku; "W-Will he be okay?" Zabuza lifted a brow listening to the conversation. "Gaara being like you two..."

 _'Like you two?'_ The swordsman saw his student looking at both Uzumaki and that Nii from Kumo. He was missing something here but shrugged it off. Kouhei was no slouch, and after he put that brat through hell, he could endure nearly anything.

He had faith in the brat, not that he'd say it openly. He had an image after all.

Yugito crossed her arms but said nothing as she watched.

At the arena floor Gaara had appeared via sand shunshin. Kouhei kept his smirk; "Let's see how badass you really are"

Gaara smirked as he accepted the challenge; "Show me."

"Sabaku no Gaara vs Ringo Kouhei, Begin!" Hayate leapt back.

Kouhei wasted no time, the brown haired boy quickly pulled out his whip and swung, the air cracked as it impacted against Gaara, or rather the sand that had risen and quickly and absorbed the blow, sending ripples across its surface. Gaara just remained still with his arms crossed, starting impassively at his opponent, already the initial excitement was dwindling.

Kouhei tsk'd in annoyance. He pulled back his weapon and struck again, this time from a different angle, all for the same result to happen once again. Sand rose up and protected the Sand ninja. The Kiri Nin channeled his chakra through the whip, from the handle to the tip, and all it did was increase the splash range of the sand.

Gaara did not move.

Grunting in mounting frustration, Kouhei's eyes took an edge as he took out four kunai with paper tags attached to them from his pouch and jumped high in the air and threw them, the embedded themselves on the ground around Gaara, far enough for his sand defense not to trigger.

The tags began to burn, and then they exploded.

The observers shielded their faces from the blast, protecting their eyes from wind, dust and rubble caused by the explosion. Where Gaara stood there now was a cloud of smoke. Few felt particularly hopeful that simple tactic was enough to take out someone with Gaara's defensive capabilities; the grin on his siblings' faces only cemented that.

The smoke soon cleared, revealing Gaara surrounded by walls of sand that had clearly taken the brunt of the explosions. Kouhei looked at him stunned while the Sand ninja frowned with disappointment and disgust.

"Is this honestly all you have to offer me? At this point you're barely worth killing" He rasped with frustration.

The ninja from Kiri seethed through clenched teeth. Anger boiled from inside him, humiliated that his enemy wasn't even taken him seriously.

"Don't let him get to you, Kouhei!" Zabuza shouted from the stands.

But Kouhei barely heard him. Gaara's words resonated within him, stirring up old feelings he kept buried. To be told he wasn't worth anything, to be looked down like he was a disappointment, something unwanted, almost the same as saying he should have never been born in the first place.

Kouhei had heard those words plenty of time from his clan. The only thing he had to counter those ugly feelings were the memories he had of his mother, the sole person in his life who had never seen him as a mistake. So he had set to prove he wasn't one, as a ninja of Kiri, one his village could be proud of.

So he would distance himself from 'him'.

"I'll show you!" He'd take Gaara out with his own power, without ever relying on the one he inherited.

The whip spun in the air, the revolutions becoming faster with each passing second. Lightning coated the weapon, sending showers of park flying off into the air. The whip became a blur of movement and energy, a blue circular wall at his side. He shouted as he struck, the air cracking like thunder as the delivered a strike with the force of a storm.

Surely, this lightning imbued element would triumph over his hand!

Gaara remained still as the weapon came ever closer. His sand rose in a dense wall in front of him, the energy from the whip discharged all over the substance as it struck, the arcs of electricity licked at the ground as the sand spread, stopping any of the excessive energy from even touching him in the first place.

Kouhei stood there horrified; his best attack had failed utterly.

Gaara looked at him with disgust. "Pathetic" And rose his arm.

It happened so very fast, the sand coalesced and came crushing down on the Kiri genin with the force of a flying brick wall.

Pain spread through his arm as a crack came from his right shoulder, the sand swiftly covering his body. "You're weak, worthless..." Gaara spoke in a bored manner; "insects like you are barely worth killing... But I'll make an exception."

" _Why was someone like you even born?!_ "

" _You stain our clan's honor by having the monster's blood in your veins!"_

" _You're as worthless as that whore you call a mother!"_

Words from the past and the Suna's words rang in Kouhei's head. Over and over he kept hearing the constant slander and hate from a village that did not want him. From people who cursed at him for the simple fact he existed at all. Fearing he'd become just like _him_.

Kouhei's rage boiled more and more he kept hearing those words in his mind. He snarled wildly glaring at his opponent. However he was not seeing Gaara. But a figure cloaked in shadow. Cold, empty, pink pupiless eyes staring at his own; "I WILL NEVER BE LIKE YOU!" The Kiri genin roared as everyone in the arena felt a tremor beneath them.

Pipes bursted through the walls and floor firing out enormous amounts of water like a geyser, even the very humidity in the room gathered and form water out of thin air. All were in shock, but no more so than Gaara as he was blasted by powerful streams of H2o. His sand was rendered useless as he was slammed into wall.

The eyes of everyone present watched what had just transpired with varying degrees of surprise and awe. Temari's lip trembled, unable to comprehend what she saw. "W-What happened?"

"Did that guy just... swat Gaara away like that?" Kankuro muttered in disbelief. Baki swore under his breath, Gaara had never received an attack like that; he had never been hit PERIOD.

Sakura looked at Kouhei with newfound astonishment, her previous assessments about the boy and his capabilities took a dive out the window. "That water manipulation, to be able to control water like that without any sort of hand sign then his affinity for the element must be... extraordinary"

Naruto sharply turned to Haku and Chojuro, both as shocked as he was. "Did you guys know he could do this?"

"N-No!" Haku stammered. "Kouhei had barely even shown proficiency with water element before!"

Kakashi's gaze caught sight of Zabuza; the swordsman was frowning heavily at the sight. He didn't look at as surprised as the others were...

"Kouhei" He muttered, his tone was hard to describe, even to the Hatake.

* * *

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

* * *

"Holy fuck," Kushina muttered under her breath as she looked wide eyed along with her sole student. The redhead had only seen one person who wielded elemental chakra to such a degree, only with fire. It was like this boy was like a water version of Tsukiko-baachan

"As if that boy was the Nidaime Hokage reborn." Yugao said breathlessly in awe.

Well, that guy was better example yeah...

* * *

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

* * *

Kouhei barely registered his fall back to arena floor as Gaara's sand broke off of him in water soaked lumps. He let out a snarl as he held his broken right arm as exhaustion coursed through his whole body. The water soon receded as Gaara hit the floor. His body simply wouldn't move, _'I got worked up... Shit...'_

Slowly, ever so slowly, Gaara stirred. He prompted himself up on shaking arms, this sensation, this... this was pain. It had been so long since he had felt physical pain. So long...

Teal eyes glared at his opponent. Gaara stood up, sand already forming around his body once more, absorbing the wetness on his person as his personal sand barrier regenerated. He took one slow step, then another and another, until he was walking towards the fallen Kouhei, killing intent radiating off of him in waves.

His exhaustion and weakened state, coupled by the strong intent coming off from Gaara, was too much for the young Kiri Nin. He let out a soft breath as he finally passed out.

"Winner, Sabaku no Gaara!" Hayate was quick to declare him the victor.

Yet Gaara did not stop, he continued walking towards him with murder in his eyes. He needed to draw his blood, needed kill him, for mother... He needed it, only then was he alive.

Sand began to swirl around him.

"Enough, you already won!"

The jinchuuriki ignored the proctor, and watched with irritation as various ninja came down in a flash to the arena floor, standing in his way. Kiri of course, but also Kumo and Konoha. The two of note, Uzumaki and Nii stood at the forefront, they both who felt so strangely familiar were staring him down along with the rest, daring to oppose him from fulfilling his existence. The Kiri jounin took his student in his arms protectively, almost challenging him to try something.

Fine, if they wanted death so much then all the better.

He raised his arm and-

"That is quite enough"

And hand was on his shoulder.

That bore repeating, a hand was on HIS shoulder. Someone was TOUCHING him.

He turned his head to meet the wizened gaze of the third Hokage, staring down at him sternly. That he had slipped in so close to him without his defense activating spoke volumes of the man's prowess.

Swiftly, his sand acted up.

"GAARA NO!" Baki shouted, terrified at the thought of his student, willingly or not, attacking the Kage of the foreign village.

The Sandaime narrowed his eyes. "Hmph"

Suddenly, chakra flooded the room. So vast and dense it cracked the ground around the old ninja with its sheer pressure. His sand was blasted away so effortlessly in every direction. It was like someone had dumped a river's worth of water on them; it was heavy, and so suffocating...

Gaara made a choking gasp as those eyes bore into him once more. So powerful...

"I believe you already won, it is no longer necessary to continue" The Kage said as he let go of the young boy's shoulder. Gaara wordlessly continued to stare at him, feeling something he could not quite describe, it felt familiar...

Ahh, fear. It's been too long since he had felt afraid too.

He merely marched towards his place by a calm looking Jiraiya, his eyes meeting that of each shinobi that was there on the arena in turn.

After what felt a small eternity, everyone could breathe again.

"...Holy shit" Shikamaru muttered, eyes wide as they stared at the Hokage with a sense of awe. He certainly wasn't the only one doing it at the moment. Ino the poor thing had fallen onto her backside, taking in as much air as she could after their leader's display.

Not that the others were fairing much better with shaky legs as they all calmed themselves.

"Yikes dad" Asuma muttered to himself, feeling the cold sweet run down his neck. "Overdid it a bit don'tcha think?"

* * *

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

* * *

"...Well, Jiji still has it," Kushina muttered warily before she turned to Yugao; "But what the hell was with that kid?"

The ANBU captain shrugged; "We haven't heard anything from Kiri in a long time. Even now we only get tiny details here and there. The Kiri rebellion and the eventual overthrow of the Yondaime Mizukage. Mai Terumi is making sure no one knows the full state of her village."

That was the smart thing to do, so no rival village would invade thinking they had become an easy target. It went to show this lady Kage was competent in her job.

* * *

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

* * *

Hiruzen hummed to himself as the ANBU patched up the arena to least making it fight-able. His eyes glanced up to Zabuza who only glanced back before turning to his team. Beside him Jiraiya rubbed his chin. "Well that wasn't something you see every day. That gaki from Kiri had one hell of trump card."

"He could rival, if not surpass, Tobirama-sensei if he ever masters that element. But also, I saw something in all my years I'd thought I'd never see. Three foreign teams coming together."

Such a concept he never once imagine he'd ever see while still alive. Not after all the bloodshed and wars that ravaged the nations. But to actually see three teams from three separate villages, two being enemies. Such a thing was completely unheard of.

"Heard those kids banded together in the forest" The toad sage commented. "The fact it happened at all surprises me" Fighting together for survival was a quick way of building camaraderie, even among the least likely allies. But for them to actually come to the defense of another once their truce was over well... that was pretty damn improbable. Naruto he could see it, that boy had a heart like his father. But as for the rest, Kumo in particular? He'd sooner believe there were youkai living among them.

Their swift response to protect the Kouhei kid... that they were at least driven by a sense of honor to defend a former comrade. Enough for them to jump in, their bodies moving before they even realized what they were doing.

"Honor among ninja, huh?" He muttered loud enough for his sensei to hear. That was something rare to find in their line of work, 'honor' was hard to gauge. There was honor in serving the village, in fighting for the country. But for some foreign ninja that by all rights would have been stabbed in the back once he ceased being useful? Jiraiya had seldom seen it.

The old Kage gave his student a look before losing himself in his thoughts. Honor, trust... Was it truly people for villages to cooperate like that? The alliance with Suna was... not exactly on steady ground at the moment. Their daimyo were hiring Konoha more and more often, much to the displeasure of the sand shinobi.

Hiruzen looked at the red headed boy. He knew what he was, the Suna jinchuuriki. There was just so many things wrong with the poor child. His gaze then went over the other genin, from his village and the rest, who were worrying over young Kouhei's unconscious form.

Bless their hearts; they haven't grown up as enemies with them that were the adults' own grudges. And if they didn't do anything then the next generation would eventually grow up to hate each other just as well.

The Sarutobi found that image before him to be very precious, and made him strive to protect it.

Perhaps... a bit of trust and honor between villages could do wonders.

"Hmm" He mused as he ran a hand of his beard.

"Oh I know that look" Jiraiya said amused. "What's on your mind?"

"Thinking that Kiri must be in need of supplies after what they went through"

That made his student pause; "That'll be tricky. Though reaching out to Kiri would be infinitely easier than Kumo. But convincing their new Kage it's not some kind of trap will take some effort."

"It will be worth it, we have two things Kirigakure needs; resources and allies" The old Kage was resolute in his tone as he lit his pipe.

Jiraiya slowly gave a nod; "This will be one for the record books if nothing else."

* * *

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

* * *

After fifteen minutes the arena was finally repaired as well as a awaken Kouhei with a sling holding up his arm. The young Genin was ghostly quiet as his team along with Team 7 and Team Kumo were asking all kinds of questions.

Finally Zabuza was losing his patience; "Alright brats knock it off. He doesn't want to talk so stop nagging alright."

Karui dryly lifted a brow; "You're a ray of sunshine aren't you?"

For Haku, she tilted her head looking at her sensei/father-figure that looked right into her eyes. She could tell there was something he was hiding. But she wasn't going to get anything out him right now. Never mind her teammate who stared down at the arena floor.

Kouhei was… very silent, he even refused to look at anyone in the face right now. The display of power had somehow been horribly shameful for him, and Haku could not fashion why. It was some reason her teammate had clearly meant to keep this secret, but the reasons behind it were a mystery to her.

It was clear Kouhei would not talk about it, so she decided to give it time. If he wanted to reach out to his teammates then he'd do so eventually, and she'd be there for when he felt ready to speak.

Coughing a bit, Hayate got people's attention; "Now that the arena is fixed let us begin." Soon names came up on the monitor. Misumi Tsurugi vs Chojuro.

The fire name belonged to one lone Konoha ninja on the opposite balcony where Suna and Oto have been standing, Kabuto's last remaining teammate; who wore a similar outfit much like his team, along with a mask he wore around his mouth that hung to around his neck and forehead protector which he wore like a bandanna, his rimless glasses shined as he eyed the Kiri Genin before leaping over the railing.

For Chojuro he took a long deep breath before following suit. Kouhei still remained quiet but watched his nervous teammate beside Haku. Close by Naruto tilts his head; "Been meaning to ask, but what's with that sword on his back?"

Zabuza only chuckled evilly as he crossed his arms across his bare chest; "Watch and see Uzumaki. It's gonna be a bloody mess"

"Could you ever possibly tone the psycho out of you for a day?" Sakura drawled.

"Oh the screeching girl is gonna tell me to tone down my attitude?" The swordsman sarcastically droned. "Yeah, next you're gonna say the blondie of your team to tone down on the ramen I hear he loves so much, or the Uchiha to stoop brooding. It just ain't how it works girly"

"You are too bloodthirsty at times, Zabuza-sama" Haku agreed.

"And you brats are not nearly bloodthirsty enough!" Zabuza proclaimed with irritation. "Oh no, you're all about making nice with each other!"

Naruto deadpanned; "'Making nice' is what pretty much saved your life the first place"

"Oh stuff it you brat, I stand by what I said. You wanna scare your enemies away before you fight them? Project a good dose of killing intent and your mission will be done before you realize it. Or if they don't run away are instead paralyzed, then it just means they're easy targets. Nearly worked on you last time"

"...How did they ever give YOU a team?"

"Kiri is fucked up. It's not the Bloody Mist anymore but you can't change something like that in such short a time, it's still fucked up. So you work with what you have. Believe me; I didn't want to have a team either but that bi- the Mizukage was very convincing"

Haku sighed.

"Your team is so lucky..." Sakura drawled.

"Whatever" He rolled his eyes. "Let me just watch Chojuro's fight and shut-"

"Fight's over" Sasuke casually commented

Various pairs of eyes blinked simultaneously. "Wait what?" Naruto said.

Indeed, Chojuro had his weapon's chakra shaped into that of a giant hammer; his pose indicated he had just swung the blunt chakra construct. And some feet in front of him laid his opponent Tsurugi, glasses broken and nose bleeding, likely broken as well.

"Knockout!" Hayate announced. "Winner, Chojuro of Kirigakure!"

Haku's head slowly tilted to the side; "Did we just miss the fight?"

Kouhei only rolled his eyes.

* * *

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

* * *

"That's the Hiramekarei!" Kushina gushed in almost child-like wonder having seen the match; "So it really does shape-shift dattebane!"

* * *

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

* * *

A bashful Chojuro was met with cheers as he came back to his team; "Damn, for shy guy you can kick some ass," Karui grinned making Kiri teen lightly blush.

"T-thank you Karui-san."

Kakashi looked from his book; "You were impressive kiddo."

Wasting no time, not that anybody needed to be told who was next. Karui soon became serious as she leapt down from the balcony. Popping his wrists, Zaku gave a faint nod to his 'Jounin' who smirked back. Leaping down, the Oto genin smiled viciously; "Let's see how you scream."

For her part Karui did not look either impressed or intimated at her opponent. She simply tapped her foot waiting for the proctor.

"- _Cough_ \- Final match of the preliminaries" Hayate announced has rose his hand. "Karui of Kumo vs Zaku Abumi... Begin!"

The moment the proctor moved back the chunin aspirants took action. Karui took out her sword as Zaku lifted his arms, the inner hollow tubes priming as air pressure build up, blasts of highly concentrated air fired directly at her. Karui swiftly moved to the side and dodged, letting the air pressure pass by harmlessly.

"Got you!" Zaku fired off again, only for Karui to jump away, the air wave clashed against a wall, lightly cracking it and creating small fissures on its surface. "Is this all you can do? Run away!"

Karui was too much of a hothead, she knew that much to her shame, honestly it wasn't her fault her teammate infuriated her so easily. But when on a fight Karui knew better than to let her emotions blind her, that is not to say she didn't make mistakes, her temper would get the better of her. But Kumo's harsh standards assured that their shinobi would head on the battlefield with a cold, calculated and detached mind. Pragmatism at its finest. And Karui was no different.

If anything, her own temper gave her an advantage sometimes if she didn't let it blind her. It allowed her to strike harder and endure more, but also it gave her insight on how to fight people like her. People too hotheaded to fight rationally. She knew how to piss them off.

Those arms of his, there's no way tubes that small could handle blasts of high level techniques continuously firing, they had to have a limit, if she could get him to overload them... It was a reckless plan, and she had no idea if it'd work. But she couldn't get close enough to do any significant damage. No choice then.

"You talk a big game for someone who had to mutilate his arms to even stand a chance against another genin"

A vein throbbed on his forehead. "What was that, you bitch?!"

"I said you're a failure" Karui smirked. "Those tubes in your arms? They only way you ever could be useful to your village were by them installing weapons into your own body. Shinobi go for all advantages they can get, but when you couldn't show any worth on your own then you're not fit to call yourself a ninja"

At the balcony, the teams watched incredulously. "Why is she goading him like this?" Naruto muttered.

"Those Oto ninja are just looking for an excuse to kill any of us" Kiba said in disbelief. "Does she actually want to piss him off knowing that?"

Yugito turned to their temporary team leader; "She really needs to reign in her attitude"

"True, but this time" The Nibi jinchuuriki could have sworn Samui's lips twitched ever so slightly upward in a smile, but the thought of the cold fellow teenager smiling was something straight out of the realm of fantasy, so Yugito attributed it to her own imagination. "She seems to actually been thinking things through"

Zaku's form trembled with rage. To hear that low level Cloud whore talk down to him, saying he was worth nothing as a shinobi... that he was not useful to lord Orochimaru, the man who had given him everything, who had given him this power...

He'll kill her.

He'll kill her!

HE'LL KILL HER!

A scream that befitted more an animal than a human escaped from his lips as he once more brought up his arms. He channeled his chakra, all of it, into the tubes inside his limbs as to deliver the most powerful blast he had ever fired. There would be no trace of her, no piece of flesh, not even a single dust molecule of bone. He'd tear her apart so utterly there would not be a body left to take back to Kumo.

All the while the leader of Oto observed with disappointment as his subordinate's anger got the better of him. ' _Fool_ ' He should have known better than to let a mere girl goad him like that. He should have known better than to use his modifications so thoughtlessly without regard for consequences.

A single word from him could have calmed Zaku down. But honestly, he had little use for ninja who couldn't use their heads. This would be a... learning experience for him.

Zaku gathered the air pressure as the sound vibrations made his arms tremble, he could feel all the bones in his arms shudder. His chakra points burned due all the sheer energy he was channeling, but Zaku did not care, he would make her pay for her words. For daring to insult him. Dosu had been a fool, and Kin a whore, but he would prove himself worthy of being Orochimaru-sama's shinobi.

His preparations ready, he fired off his attack.

And his arms exploded.

The majority of the genin and a few Jounin winced as the Oto Genin let out a painful roaring shrill as he fell to the ground. Karui had appeared beside him thankfully knocking him out with hard kick. The Kumo Kunoichi sighed before cringing at Zaku's arms, or lack of them from the elbows down.

"Zaku is unable to battle, winner is Karui." Hayate spoke up as medical Nin was quick to take the injured Oto Genin.

* * *

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

* * *

As the remaining genin stood in front of the Hokage with Jiraiya at his side, some feel both elation and exhaustion. They could finally get some rest in a bed instead of being in that accused forest and this bloody tower. Still a few were curious as to why Anko was holding a medium size box with a hole big enough for a hand. At here sides were both Hayate and Ibiki.

"For those of you who made it, I congratulate you. But test is not over, not yet" The Hokage spoke hiding a smirk upon seeing a few of the young teens groan in irritation. "Now, you must take a number from the box, whoever has the closest number to yours will be your opponent in the third stage"

"So it's like prelims, one on one competition," Yugito spoke up beside her team.

Hiruzen gave a nod; "Correct Miss Nii. However the final exam will be in one month. You make take that time to rest, strategize, and train for your coming opponent."

"Listen up," Ibiki soon took over with a firm shout; "When we call out your names get up here and grab a ball"

With that Hayate begun to call off names from his clipboard and the young chunin hopefuls came over taking a ball. The results… were unexpected for some…

Sakura felt a chill creep up her spine as she warily gazed over towards her opponent. Neji only gazed back at her with an impassive apathy. "First match: Sakura Haruno vs Neji Hyuuga," Hayate spoke writing on his clipboard.

Slit feline blues and chocolate brown both shone with mutual respect for the other; "Second match: Yugito Nii vs Haku Yuki."

Bouncing on the balls of his feet, Lee couldn't stop smiling while Naruto wasn't sure he was going to have fun. Or be totally screwed; "Third match: Rock Lee vs Naruto Uzumaki."

"Fourth match: Sasuke Uchiha vs Sabaku no Gaara." As the proctor said the names, the Uchiha stared with determination while the Ichibi Jinchurriki showed little interest in return.

Temari's eyes were predatory as she smirked over to a nervous Chojuro; "Fifth match: Sabaku no Temari vs Chojuro."

A kunai spun in Tenten's fingers as she glared back at a vicious smirking puppet master; "Sixth match: Tenten Higarashi vs Sabaku no Kankuro."

Karui came to a realization as she counted the number of people who would pass to the third exam. "Wait, there's nobody left for me. We're an odd number"

"The finals are tournament rounds" Ibiki explained. "We can't accommodate just because of one person out, you'll fight whoever wins the first match"

So that meant either pinky or the Hyuuga boy. Karui honestly wasn't too happy about fighting an opponent who would already be tired and weakened after their first match but she had no room to complain"

"And so we close the second stage of the Chunin exams. You have one month, make it count," The Sandaime spoke with resolution which made every genin nod.

* * *

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

* * *

Kushina let out a sigh as she lay back on her bed; "Well now that is over can I get the hell out of here now," the redhead whined making Yugao and the other ANBU sigh.

"Hokage-sama said you still need to stay a day more for observation. Fortunately the position of your heart won't cause any trouble, but they need to make sure the rest of your organs are in the right place." The sole student of the red death spoke back dryly, having to have explained this several times already.

Of course that only made Kushina whine louder…

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

 **For those wanting to be in the know:**

 **Next** : Another Naruto: Shoton of Konoha chapter

 **Followed by** : Dragon Age Origins: Dovahkiin 'Two chapters'

 **And then** : Anbu Sennin: A Final Fantasy VII Story 'Two chapters'

 _ **Ta-Ta!**_


	23. The Return of The Red Death

**Disclaimer:** We do not own Naruto

 **Co-author and Beta:** Etheral-23

 **Chapter 23: The Return of the Red Death**

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

"Can someone fully explain to me the need or purpose in waking up before even the goddamn sun is up for of all things a meeting?" Tsume growled with tired irritation as she rested her elbow on the clan head seating table with her cheek in her palm.

The majority of those present shared the thought, but unlike the Inuzuka clan head they kept quiet. It had been rather sudden and out of the blue as ANBU had summoned only the major clan leaders and the elders for an impromptu meeting ordered by the Hokage. While it was not called an outright emergency, the timing was still suspicious.

Mostly to Shikaku Nara who was currently sipping a cup of freshly brewed coffee beside a yawning Chōza Akimichi. "Now, now Tsume" Inoichi said diplomatically. "Hokage-sama would not have called us here if it wasn't for something important"

The wild maned woman growled; "Is the village under attack, no? Then why the hell can't I go back to sleep?!"

"One would imagine you Inuzuka to be early risers" The ever collected and nearly monotone voice of Shibi Aburame intoned next to her. "What with all the noise your kennels filled with young pups make every day"

Rather than barking an angry retort, the Inuzuka matriarch just look at him with surprised; "When did you get here?"

"...I've been here all this time" If one were to put more attention they'd pick up the slight tone of annoyance lacing his voice.

"Pretty sure I would have heard or smelled you before if you were" The Inuzuka prided themselves over their animal-like senses for a reason.

Shibi merely looked at her behind his shades, and Tsume got the feeling she had put her foot in her mouth once again. A few of the clan heads rolled their eyes at the antics that were far too much of a common occurrence for their tastes, especially to the head of the Hyuuga clan who merely sat with his arms crossed and his eyes closed, projecting the image a of cold and composed aristocrat he had perfected over the years.

It was only when the new arrivals appeared that he opened his eyes and greeted them. "Honored elders" He politely inclined his head, a gesture soon followed by the others.

The aged visage of elders Homura and Koharu was a familiar sight for the clan heads, as the Hokage's advisors they were closely involved in the Village's day-to-day business and its various operations. Though sometimes differing in ideology and methods to their leader, their opinion was highly valued by the Hokage regardless.

It was the third elder that put the clan heads a bit on edge. Half of his face covered in bandages, an arm hidden inside his robes which often lead people to believe it was no longer as usable as it was in the past due to injuries sustained over a lifetime of service, he walked by supporting his free left on a cane. His visible eye carried a hardened edge that seemed to pierce nearly anything. One couldn't be blamed to compare his visage to that of an old war hawk still on the prowl even after many years of battle.

Danzo Shimura was often a rare sight in meetings with the clans. The Shimura clan was under the leadership of his son (whom rumors stated was not on speaking terms with his father) having long since passed on the role to operate behind the scenes with some of the village's most... questionable activities. And coming from ninjas that spoke a lot of what the old war hawk did. Not that they themselves were much aware of whatever activities Danzo conducted in service to the village. The elder was just rarely involved in village meetings.

"So" Shikaku started, looking at the two elders often found at the Hokage's side, "do you know why Sarutobi-sama has called us?"

"We, in fact, do not" Homura replied tensely. "Whatever is going on, it wasn't brought up to us beforehand"

No one had noticed Danzo grip on his cane had gotten tighter while his face remained unreadable. He was not pleased being left in the dark with zero information given to him. Whatever was going on Hiruzen was playing something close to the chest. His grip relaxed as he simply waited along with others.

The door to the council room opened as the village leader entered; "I thank you all for coming at such an hour."

"Forgive my bluntness Hokage-sama," Tsume unsurprisingly spoke up first; "But if this is not an emergency why the hell did we all have get out of nice warm beds before the ass crack of dawn?"

' _...Wonder how she will react with whose waiting outside,_ ' Hiruzen dryly mused as he half wished he had a camera when seeing everyone's faces. He cleared his throat; "Well Tsume-dono please allow me to introduce the reason I have called everyone here. Enter!"

All eyes went towards the door as if opened slowly. Once open, Shikaku who was in the middle of drinking his coffee soon spat it out coughing.

Who came through the threshold and entered the room dawning simple ANBU pants and a muscle shirt was a person everyone in the room had thought they would never see again till their eventual deaths. For Kushina this was a _really_ awkward moment and felt like hiding somewhere upon seeing the expressions of people who to her she's just seen a few days ago.

When in fact it had been twelve years for all of them.

The redhead gave a meek chuckle as she waved; "Uh hi..."

Hiashi had literally stood up from his seat, his rigid cold persona vanished with utter disbelief in its stead; "K...Kushina..."

"Been a while," Nice tension-breaking skills there, Kushina. She berated herself.

The sheer utter shock had pretty much shut down all cognitive functions in everyone's brain. Their minds simply could not comprehend that they were seeing right now. It was an impossibility, Kushina was dead, and that's something all of them were painfully aware of.

But here she was, alive, standing in front of them, looking exactly as she did last time they saw her. Sans the large pregnant belly. If this was the Hokage's idea of a joke then it was a very cruel one. This had to be an impostor. But the notion was quickly rejected in favor of logic (hard as it was to apply it in this occasion), the Hokage would not have brought this individual before them unless he was one hundred percent sure this woman was the real deal.

And yet... Kushina died that day, Minato had died with her. They has lost two dear friends that horrible day all those years ago, two more names added to the far too filled monument of their brave fallen, along with all those who lost their lives that night.

To have her in front of them was possibility that frightened them. Hope was terrifying after all.

It was Shikaku who first managed to ask what was in everyone's minds; "H-How is this possible? How are you alive?!"

"Well..." Kushina rubbed her arm awkwardly, "I guess it I should start with Tsukiko-baachan, you see, years ago before I even came to Konoha she gave me a scroll and-"

And she went on a long explanation about an extremely powerful scroll developed by the legendary goddess of fūinjutsu herself. Honestly, the possibility of such a scroll (even if it did have many drawbacks and was a one on a hundred chance it could work) was a bit too far-fetched for them to believe.

But then again, this was _the_ Tsukiko. A woman whose exploits was up there with Hashirama and Madara. Indeed, they had met her before in their early childhood, on a visit from the seal master on their village years ago. The two hundred year old woman was a legend for a reason, the adults couldn't stop praising her sheer knowledge on the art of sealing, and how many seals used nowadays were designs that came from the woman herself. If Tsukiko Uzumaki created something like that, then it fell into the realm of possibility a scroll like that to have existed in the first place. That woman had left an impression.

It may also have to do with her famed crusade in which she would personally spank misbehaving children who had committed some act of naughtiness or other in her presence to install some discipline into them. Few were spared the wrath of her bent knee and smacking hand. Indeed, legends had it she had spanked all previous Kages in their youth.

The reality of the situation finally dawned on them.

"You're here..." Inoichi whispered loud enough to be heard his voice thick with emotion. "You're actually here..."

Kushina smiled warmly, and it was such a comforting sight; "Sorry I've been away for so long"

To Tsume that was not enough. Having climbed over the table, she strode over the redhead, towering over her by a few inches, and casted a judgmental gaze upon her which Kushina received unflinching. The Inuzuka sniffed, catching the scent coming off from the supposedly returned Uzumaki.

It was the same. Downright to the last detail that was Kushina's scent.

But there was only one way she would know for sure. Her knuckles of her right hand popped as her fist slammed into Kushina's face. "Tsume!" Chōza rose from his seat.

However the redhead rubbed her jaw before spatting out some blood. She grinned right back at Tsume; "That fist of yours has gotten soft, bitch."

"Oh THAT'S the Kushina I know!" Only she could take a punch like that and have a grin that was as feral as an Inuzuka's in return. Tsume grinned back; "Who you calling soft, bitch?" she patted Kushina's belly; "That little scroll might have saved your cute little ass. But that ass is far from fighting shape. This is a soft belly."

"I had just given birth to Naruto you dumb ass! How was your figure after popping out Hana and Kiba?! Twelve years and you're still a stupid mutt!"

"WHAT YOU CALL ME, YOU CUNT?!" Tsume snarled in Kushina's face who snarled right back

"YOU WANT ME TO FUCKING REPEAT, BITCH!"

"I DARE YA TO REPEAT IT!"

The majority within the room collectively sweatdropped at the display. It was like Kushina had never left, the interactions of those two had always been that strange friendship-rivalry of theirs. Annnnd they basically had picked up where they had left off. However the Sandaime cleared his throat loudly enough to get the hotheaded ladies to stop arguing. "You two can get back to your cat fight later." Tsume let out a light growl at the word 'cat'.

Trying to gather themselves in this situation was a monumental task, but they took their seats once again so they could properly carry on their business. Celebration could come later. The Uzumaki took a moment to look at all her friends' faces, they were similar to how she last saw them, but could tell there were more signs of aging. Once again knowing just how long she had been away was a disturbing thought.

"When exactly were you... unsealed?" Inoichi asked.

"Couple of days ago" Kushina replied. "Little before the prelims began actually"

Hiruzen took over; "Of course, I kept this matter private until I could be certain she was in fact our Kushina. We kept her hidden in the forest tower's medical facilities"

"Understandable" Shikaku nodded. "So I suppose the matter at hand now is; what do we do now?" He waved a hand at the red head. "Do we just tell everyone you're back?"

"This is an... unusual situation" Koharu spook up, hands joined over the table as she mused over the long term changes this would bring. "If Kushina rejoins our forces" The Uzumaki in question didn't like how she said 'rejoins', as though she had actually left service on her own. "Then eventually the other nations WILL know. Now more than ever with the Chunin Exams going"

"It is an inevitability" Hiruzen acknowledged. "Eventually, all will know. But I believe this works to our advantage" He gathered their interest with those words. "One of our strongest is back; let our enemies think carefully before provoking us now"

Kushina tried not to smirk too proudly at his words. She failed. "You hear that Tsume? 'One of our strongest'"

The Inuzuka matriarch bared her teeth and growled, to which Kushina just smirked more smugly. Both women quickly back down like ashamed children once the Hokage glared at them.

"As I was saying" He grumbled. "Kushina's return is a boon to this village, in more ways than one. My advice is that we just go with it immediately; let the rumors spread as Kushina walks our streets once again"

The voice of someone who had been quiet so far suddenly spoke up, one that soured Kushina's mood immediately; "And what do you propose we tell the populace? We can't just reveal to them she cheated death by use of an extremely powerful scroll"

Danzo... Gods, she had hoped that old war hawk wasn't still around. But because the universe hated her, here he was taking part of the meeting. This meant he was still overseeing those wet work operations of his. Kushina was no stranger to such black ops, having been in the ANBU for years, but Danzo's methods were extreme. He casually disregarded the lives of their shinobi and wasn't afraid of discarding them like one did a broken tool. The elder was vocal about Kushina mastering the Kyuubi's power to act as a cold and obedient killing machine for the village, which had earned the Uzumaki's despise. She didn't even want to imagine what he would have done had he gotten his hands on her son. His extremely aggressive doctrine was just trouble waiting to happen before he suddenly made the village a new enemy just because he took matters into his own hands and acted out of paranoia.

It had nearly happened in the past. Why the old man kept this warmonger around was a mystery to her.

"We say that she has been lying low since the Kyuubi attack, doing covert operations" Hiruzen proposed. "Certain circumstances led her to take an active duty once again"

Chōza's head shook in disbelief; "That's it? 'She was hiding and now she isn't', that's what we're telling our people?"

"It's better than the alternative. We don't want to give the other nations more reason to seek the Uzumaki's secrets"

What else could do they to her clan that they hadn't already? Kushina thought bitterly but didn't voice it. Instead she said; "Only the ANBU know what really happened. Along with a few people I can trust with this knowledge"

At that everyone slowly agreed with the Hokage's reasoning. Kushina noticed Inoichi looked conflicted as he rubbed his hands; "Inoichi, what is it?"

The Yamanaka head looked up at his old friend before sighing; "I'm trying to come up with some way to ask this without drawing out painful memories. Especially since to you it's only been a few days."

Hiashi closed his eyes; "There isn't an _easy_ way asking what we all want to know."

Kushina's violet eyes casted downwards to the floor; "What happened twelve years ago." After a long silence, she explained the horrible events of October 10th. She gave every detail of the individual who she spoke with pure venom and hatred in her tone. But what sparked everyone's attention was the revelation the masked man had a Sharingan.

Hiruzen raised his hand before anyone could speak; "I want no one to jump to any conclusions. Whoever this masked man is, we do not know if he is indeed an Uchiha or not. Nor can we say it was the Uchiha clan or simply one man who orchestrated the events of twelve years ago."

"You still should have kept watch on the Uchiha regardless," Danzo spoke in a low tone.

Hiruzen only glared back in response. Neither talked, but from the Sandaime's eyes they read; ' _this is neither the time nor the place._ '

The old war hawk remained quiet before noticing the intense glare from the Uzumaki redhead. He was fully aware of the strong friendship between Kushina and the late Mikoto Uchiha. From their time in the academy to being teammates under Sakumo Hatake. And by the fury that blazed in the redhead's eyes, it was like she was almost daring him to imply her best friend was involved.

Shikaku rubbed his chin; "I don't like the sound of this guy being able to teleport pass our defenses, never mind able to phase through solid objects. Essentially this guy can go anywhere; we need to update the barrier seals." If that could even work against his skills in the first place.

"That's what catches your attention the most?" Tsume said incredulously; "What about the fact he controlled a fucking BIJUU? Something only the Shodai and Madara Uchiha could do!"

Shibi huffed; "I don't think anyone here is ignoring that particular fact, Tsume. For the moment our bijuu is secured. So I find myself worrying that our current defense systems are woefully ineffective against him" It was hard to tell what Shibi was feeling, but that was part of the course for the Aburame. "The Kyuubi had appeared right in the middle of the village, the masked man must have summoned it himself. Which means he got pass the Sensing Barrier"

Kushina did a double take; "The Sensing-? Oh my gods you people are still using that thing?!" The clan heads blinked at her outburst. "Jiji what the hell! I told you that thing wouldn't work! It's the most poorly functional and inefficient sensing system I've seen, I told you it would take decades to even make something like that remotely close to operable!"

The Hokage had the decency to look embarrassed. "The Kyuubi attack left us severely weakened and vulnerable; we had to use every option available to us. Even if the quality wasn't exactly up to par..."

Chōza muttered nervously; "The... Sensing Barrier doesn't work?"

"Oh it works... when it wants to!" Kushina exclaimed. "If that thing truly worked it'd be going off every time a BIRD flies over the village because it's an 'unauthorized passage'. Honestly, that barrier picks up intruders at random; sometimes it barely manages to pick up one if the chakra signature isn't big enough"

Hiruzen lit his old pipe; "I'll have that matter dealt with. In the mean time we find out whatever information we can about this masked man with a Sharingan, whoever he is."

"I promise I'll do more than find information," Tsume snarled almost like a feral hound; "He'll pay for all the lives he ruined. He'll be screaming when I'm done."

From all their gazes, Kushina could see her old friends all looked ready to spill blood. They finally had a _real_ target, the one responsible for that tragedy twelve years ago. But they would to wait in line, because as far as the Uzumaki swordswoman was concerned;

That bastard belonged to her...

* * *

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

* * *

Naruto sat quietly in the Hokage's office as he looked down at the floor while Jiraiya gazed out the window to Konoha. It had gotten eerie quiet since the toad sage as he revealed himself being his godfather, as well as his father's sensei. But explained why he was never there as he was the village's spymaster. In truth, Jiraiya felt relieved letting it out. But it was just so damn unnerving not hearing a single word from the brat, being so silent for such a long time was extremely out of character.

"Are you mad?" The Gama Sennin cocked his head slightly and glanced behind him.

The blond's gaze remained at the floor; "I want to be. But I can't, being angry won't change a damn thing. And I get it, you couldn't lug around a kid going all over the nations for missions from Jiji."

"I was an orphan too growing up so believe me I do understand that kind of loneliness." Jiraiya's tone was solemn as he turned around seeing the surprised look from blond; "It's not an easy life but it toughened us up, taught us not to take bullshit when we see it."

At that Naruto could agree to; "So... what now?"

"Now, I know your mom wants to train you, but she also needs to get back into fighting shape. So both me and Kushina will be working on you and pinky, while Kakashi helps me with getting Kushina into fighting shape again."

Training with his mother sounded amazing. That was what a ninja parent was supposed to do with their child right? He was still new to this whole 'having a mother' thing, so honestly he was swimming in uncharted waters. Don't get him wrong, he was beyond happy to have his mother in his life, but this new experience was also somewhat frightening to him. He had no idea what to do as a son.

But hey, he never backed down from a challenge.

It was at that moment that the door opened, and the Hokage and Kushina stepped inside. "Man, I'm beat..." She drawled.

"I agree with you" Hiruzen grunted, this entire affair was a taxing one.

"Everything went well?" Naruto asked.

Kushina flashed a toothy grin; "Yep. Got to meet with old friends after all"

"You spent about at a half an hour in there," Jiraiya thumbed back to the window as the morning sun glowed in the sky. "Think that's a new record for you." Hiruzen rolled his eyes as he took his seat at his desk.

Just as Kushina sat down beside her son on one of the sofas and ANBU appeared kneeling; "Hokage-Sama."

"Hey Iguru!" Kushina smiled with a small wave to which the ANBU glanced with a nod and muttered 'Captain'.

The old Kage lifted a brow; "Something to report?"

"A young girl roughly Naruto-san's age came forward, expressing she had information regarding Orochimaru."

Everyone grew still, Jiraiya narrowed his eyes; "You sure? Could be a trap."

Iguru lifted his head "We brought the girl to an interrogation room; She gave every detail she knew about the Hebi Sannin."

Hiruzen rubbed his beard; "Bring her to me."

"Hai." The ANBU vanished via shunshin.

"Well that is out of the blue," Kushina crossed her arms leaned back on the sofa. "What should we do?"

"Nothing until I meet this young lady and she explains herself to me."

"Should I be here?" Naruto asked; "This sounds above my paygrade"

"And it is" Hiruzen agreed. "But considering the interest Orochimaru has shown on you and Sasuke, perhaps it's better if you too hear what she has to say" With that, he gave the young blonde his permission to stay.

It wasn't long before the ANBU returned, this time bringing with him a young girl wearing spectacles and a headband from Kusa. Her red eyes nervously shifted to the people present, lingering on Kushina for a moment as she seemed to tremble, clearly overwhelmed by the presence of such renowned and powerful individuals.

"Lord Hokage" She bow at the waist as was proper the etiquette. "Lord Jiraiya, and..." She paused at seeing the older redhead.

"Kushina Uzumaki" The woman presented herself.

"...I see" Something seemed to glint in her eyes. Recognition? Nostalgia? Whatever it was it quickly vanished as she looked at Naruto: "We meet again"

"Oh!" He perked up as his gaze shifted. "Y-Yeah! Hi! Uh... you"

"Wait" The girl's eyes narrowed. "You... You do remember me right?"

"Yeeeaaah-No" He confessed. "Sorry, I guess you didn't make an impression"

She face faulted at his words. Jiraiya smacked his own face at his lack of tact with women, while Kushina was openly giggled.

The girl composed herself as she glared at the apologetic blond; "Forest of death, giant bear."

Naruto's eyes sparked with recognition upon those two words; "OH!" He paused as he remembered why the girl was here as he turned serious; "You know about Hebi-Teme?"

She liked that nicknamed, but focused as she nodded and looked back to the Sandaime; "Yes, my name is Karin. I also need to inform you of what I told the ANBU; Otogakure is under Orochimaru's control." Everyone's eyes shot open as Iguru nodded in confirmation to her words; "He created that hidden village."

Now that was one hell of nugget of information. However the old Kage gave the young girl a long scrutinizing gaze; "You're being rather forthcoming with all this, you know full well Orochimaru is a traitor of Konohagakure."

"I am aware, I felt it best to be honest with if I wanted to seek asylum and join Konoha."

"Getting ahead of yourself, Specs," Jiraiya spoke up in a stern tone; "We need to know everything you know about my old teammate."

"Hai"

And so she did. She was part of the recon force, meaning she was an agent of the snake. THAT particular bit of information made all the occupants in the room scrutinize her all the more. Her powerful sensing ability would have allowed Orochimaru to pinpoint the location of certain key figures of the village, as well as targets of interest to him. Naruto and Sasuke, as the Snake Sannin were very interested in their bloodlines.

But what worried them the most was that Orochimaru was mobilizing his forces, which sent off many alarms on the Konoha shinobi's heads. Their target was quite clear to them.

"He's going to attack us" Jiraiya muttered in dread. "Right in the middle of the exams"

"But I thought Oto was a very small village" Kushina shook her head in confusion; "How is he hoping to get the manpower to attack one of the big villages?"

"I do not believe he is seeking an all-out battle" Hiruzen said, his eyes hardened. "Thinking on it logically, he plans on a quick strike to fulfill his objectives and escape swiftly before we can retaliate properly. This means he either wants to take something from the village, or remove something he perceives as a threat; taken that into consideration his most likely objective is that-"

Jiraiya finished for him; "He wants to assassinate you..."

Karin nodded which made Hiruzen sigh; "I had a feeling it would come to this." He tipped his hat as old memories, and regrets came to him. Seeing the image of the young boy so full of promise and potential, who turned into a monster he should have ended if not for the love carried for his apprentice.

His eyes turned to the young girl before him; "And you are a recon scout of Otogakure."

Turning to the ANBU beside her she showed Iguru her pocket. Wanted to show no hostile intent, upon looking, he gave her a nod for which Karin pulled out a metal headband with Otogakure's symbol.

"Young lady you realize this places you in a very complicated situation. You have admitted working for a renowned traitor to this village who wishes for my death."

A grave nod came from the glasses wearing Kunoichi; "I know. But if there was any chance in showing I mean no harm to the village and wish to join I had to be honest about my former employment."

"Why the hell would you work for a bastard like that?!" Naruto exclaimed.

"It was all I had" Karin sighed; "My dad died when I was little, and my mother just a few years after. I was... alone, lost. Orochimaru found me and gave me a purpose, a place to belong. Where I was valued"

The bastard had emotionally manipulated her, Kushina thought bitterly, a sentiment shared by the others. He found a scared and lonely little girl and prayed upon her insecurities and fears so he could better use her for his own machinations. How many orphans had he turned to his side like that? How many people was he willing to use and sacrifice for his own ambitions? And just how many of those poor, directionless youths had he horribly experimented upon all for his sick quest for knowledge and power?

And here was this girl who wanted out. "You saw him for what he really is" Jiraiya said, it wasn't a question.

She nodded. "I did, I just... I just couldn't take it anymore. Not after all I saw, the things he did and what I... helped him do"

The Hokage tipped his hat as he closed his eyes in thought. "And why our village? Why not just go off the radar entirely?"

"Because I know what he's capable of, I fear he might find me anyway. I'm sure it won't be long before he knows I'm no longer obeying his commands" She fidgeted nervously. "And considering this village's history, I thought you might be more lenient with someone of my... heritage"

Okay that made everyone lift a brow; "Your heritage..." Hiruzen shifted his head.

Karin glanced over to Naruto and Kushina before she took a deep breath; "My full name is... Karin Uzumaki..."

Everyone could have heard a pin dropping in the room with the silence that followed. Both mother and son gawked while village leader and toad sage were not fairing any better. Even Iguru by his body language looked surprised. It was Kushina who shook it quickly before glaring; "Young lady," her voice etched with emotion; "if you are lying I swear to you, you will regret it. Who are your parents?"

"Hisao and Kirika Uzumaki," Karin said quickly as she shrunk under the older redhead's gaze.

Kushina froze; "Kirika-chan..." Her voice almost a whisper.

However Hiruzen upon gaining his composure was unreadable; "We will need to take a blood test to prove this claim."

"Use my blood," Kushina spoke quickly; "Kirika was a first cousin of mine. If what she says is true the test will show a familial match with me."

"Iguru." One word was all the Hokage needed for the ANBU to understand his intentions. The ANBU nodded and disappeared, when he returned he had a pair of needles ready to extract their blood.

All they had to do now was wait. Karin couldn't shake off the feeling of uneasy as all eyes continued looking at her in contemplation and suspicion.

* * *

XxX ~ twenty minutes later ~ XxX

* * *

After what felt like eternity, Iguru came back to the office handing the Hokage the scroll. Hiruzen must have read the results at least three times to make sure he wasn't seeing things, he turned to Kushina and Naruto with an unreadable expression; "They results came positive, there is a familial match... she truly is an Uzumaki"

Both mother and son had their breath hitch in their throats while Jiraiya's eyes widened in shock, They turned to the young girl in the room who cowered under their gazes, she had known these two people in front of her were her kin, though it had been quite a shock to hear she was so closely related to the Red Death Konoha (who wasn't as dead as everyone believed, but that wasn't the point right now).

Karin was simply overwhelmed, unsure on what to do now. These were her relatives, her... her family. Gods it has been so long since she last thought of anyone as her family.

Even if the spectacled girl didn't know how to act at the moment, Kushina on the other hand knew just what to do. She approached Karin, who fidgeted nervously, before dropping to one knee and surrounded her with her arms in a tight embrace.

Karin froze, she couldn't remember the last time someone actually hugged her. Nor could she stop the tears that soon fell from her eyes before returning Kushina's embrace.

"Son of a bitch," Jiraiya muttered as he read the scroll himself. He blinked looking up seeing now Naruto was beside his mother hugging Karin as well, his own tears starting to fall. His gaze shifted to his sensei; "Well old man?"

"I shall her grant asylum. But if she wishes to join the shinobi corps she will be under probation for at least four months." Hiruzen could not stop a smile that formed at the sight in his office.

Kushina rubbed the top of Karin's head before glanced over to Hiruzen and Jiraiya; "She is staying with her family. Orochimaru will never get near her again."

* * *

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

* * *

The morning hustle was in full swing as people and businesses went about their day. Well, that would be the case if everyone had not frozen in place as they saw a ghost of a living legend was strolling through the village. Kushina ignored the shocked stares as she, Naruto, Karin, and Jiraiya made their way to the blond's apartment.

Said blond only looked wide eyed as he walked seeing civilian and shinobi alike staring at his mother in absolute disbelief. "I think people noticed you're back, mom."

"Oh I wish they wouldn't stare at me so much" Kushina whispered, cringing as she did her best to ignore the looks she was receiving. "It's so unnerving..."

"Right?" Naruto, more or less an expert on the subject, droned dispassionately. Kushina immediately regretted her words and wished she could eat them.

"It's okay, girl" Jiraiya assured her. "Give it some time, they'll get used to it"

"I hope so..."

One of the ninja they there about to pass by gawked at her; "K-Kushina-dono!" He muttered in disbelief. "You're alive, h-how?!"

"Classified" Kushina replied with such ease that it clashed with her previous mood, almost as if those words were second nature to her.

"Ah" Surprisingly for Naruto that seemed to ease the ninja's surprise a lot. "Understood. Good to have you back" And went about his business.

Naruto's gaze followed the ninja until his neck couldn't turn anymore. "Okay that was weird. He went from getting the shock of his life to having ZERO questions"

"Ninja life kid" Jiraiya wisely said. "Not the weirdest thing it can happen, everyone will most likely believe she was on secret assignments all these years. Black ops is very hush-hush for a reason, you learn not to ask questions"

Walking beside her blond cousin, Karin, who no longer wore a Kusa headband, spoke up; "So where are we going?"

"We're heading to Gaki's apartment and grabbing all his stuff," Jiraiya answered now having both young teens look towards him.

Kushina gave a smile; "We're going to take you to your real home."

The blond's eyes went wide; "Wha-?"

"It was the old man's plan to give you your parent's house when we explained your heritage when you were ready. But since Red here is back, no point now." Jiraiya crossed his arms. "And can finally get those ANBU new mission assignments." He noticed the odd look from his part-time student; "Come on brat, you'd think we wouldn't have you watched over?"

"Wait" It had begun to dawn on him, "you're telling me the people in my apartment block are all ANBU?!"

"Well not all of them. We only have so many ANBU; a fair number of them are though. Others are jounin, chunin, even some retired ninja live there" He snorted at Naruto's incredulous look, "Seriously kid, you're a valuable target. We sure wouldn't have let you live on your own without making sure you were well protected"

"So, nearly all of them-?"

"Yup"

"The lady with the dogs?"

"Inuzuka sensor"

"The old lady that pressed flowers?"

"Retired medic, specialist on herbal medicine"

"The weird anti-social guy?"

"Aburame, 'nuff said"

"...The stoner at the top floor"

"Nnnnnnno that was just a stoner on the top floor"

Honestly, nobody knew where the hell that guy came from. He just showed up and started living on the top of the damn building. But it was shown he was harmless, and really good at making Cannabis.

As Kakashi worked through some reports on his team and the prelims and coming third exam he let out a loud sneeze.

* * *

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

* * *

Kushina couldn't shake off the feeling of unease she got from looking at her house. Though part of her felt like she had last seen her just a couple of days ago, the other part of her knew it had been twelve years. She thought it'd look more run down, abandoned, but Jiraiya had assured her Hiruzen had the house routinely checked over and maintained, so one day Naruto would properly inherit it.

The same two stories block with a tower connected right next to it. It was modest on its own right; neither Minato nor herself had ever cared owning a fancy estate.

Minato and her together had made this place a home. To think he was no longer here, sharing this life with her and their son... it sent a stab of pain through her heart. She didn't want to step into the house, didn't want to enter and be greeted with silence instead of her husband's kind voice.

Gods she hadn't even visited his grave yet... And she was terrified of doing so.

But she had to do this right now, face her fears to show her son this was the home he was meant to live in all this time.

The blond and younger redhead looked wide eyed at the place; "This is home." It was more of a statement than a question as Naruto whispered.

His mother gave him a soft smile before they walked up the wooden stairs to the door. Kushina's hand shook as it held the key. She took a long deep breath while Jiraiya could see so many emotions coming from the Uzu woman.

She inserted the key. Upon opening the door she looked to her son and Karin; "You guys first."

Naruto stiffened for a moment before he took a step through the threshold. The interior was rather quite modest and simple. Karin had to admit, this was not what she was expecting of a house that belonged to the Yondaime Hokage and Red Death. The furnishings were kept homey and well cleaned. She did not see one speck of dust anywhere truth be told.

As the two teens wandered around inside, just outside Kushina held her chest with her hand. Her heart wouldn't stop racing.

Seeing her turmoil, Jiraiya placed a comforting hand on her shoulder; "Hey, if you're not feeling ready yet you don't have to stay here. We'll just get you and Naruto another place"

She shook her head after taking a deep breath; "No... No, I need to do this"

He looked at her in concern; "You haven't even properly grieved yet, girl" She had been thrown from the day of her son's birth, her husband's death, twelve years into the future without her having even had enough time to process it and come to terms with it. One would forgive Jiraiya if he thought Kushina clearly wasn't okay.

"Well... I guess this is how I start" She steeled herself and walked inside the house.

The entrance, the living the room, the kitchen, and the rest of the rooms she couldn't see at the moment, they all brought too many memories. Memories that should remind her of happier times were now tinged with heartache and sorrow. For they reminded her of what she had lost. The man who loved her, the life they could have had with their son...

She took a deep breath and continued on, hearing her son's voice coming from the kitchen as he inspected it, clearly impressed with its set up. Kushina prided herself on keeping a fully stock kitchen, with all the tools she required to make the many meals Minato enjoyed. She would cook them now for him, as she was always meant to do.

And Karin, gods the girl had just suddenly appeared in their lives without leaving her a single moment of rest to process everything that happened to her. But she was Kirika's daughter; she had fond childhood memories of her mother from Uzushio, to know that her parents were gone and that she had been in Orochimaru's service... Even with her grief while she tried to piece her life back together, Kushina simply could not refuse giving the girl a home. She was family after all.

So Kushina pushed down her grief, right now she needed to be a mother.

Her composure nearly shattered upon seeing a picture in the hallway. Of her and Minato celebrating when he was named as the old man's successor. A chocked breath escaped her lips, so she brought up a hand to cover her mouth and stop it from becoming a full cry. Even the image of him made her heart throb painfully.

Jiraiya grimaced, though thankful that Naruto and Karin went downstairs as they discovered the old training room Minato and Kushina made. He said nothing as he guided the redhead to the couch in the living room. Her body shook with her hands over her face.

The old Toad sage knelt in front of her; "This is going too fast for you. You need to stop and let yourself adjust." His voice quiet so not to get the kids attention.

"If I stop," she lowered her hands with fresh tears that gleamed around her eyes. "I don't think I'd be able to get back up." Her voice horse in a partial whisper; "Everything feels so wrong... like I was flung into some parallel world where my husband is dead. Mi-Chan is gone. And my son spent twelve years alone to fend for himself. What the hell am I supposed to do?"

Jiraiya honestly thought of himself a poor teacher, regardless of his boasts he didn't think much of himself after a lifetime of failures. Who was he to actually help guide this woman when she clearly needed help? He, who couldn't even save a friend from himself, or protect his student?

But seeing the pain on Kushina's face, the woman who had gone through so much already, tear-stained and lost, reminded him that a poor teacher or not, he was still a teacher. It was his duty to offer guide, especially to the people who he thought of as family.

"Endure" He said strongly, placing a comforting hand over hers. "You know far too well this life will consume you up if you let it. So I all I can tell you is that you need to endure, be a mother for your son, and stay strong because for all that this cruel world has done to you, never doubt for a moment that it will stop. So you need to endure"

Her eyes, angry and mournful, glared at him; "Hasn't this world taken enough from me already? My home, my clan... and now my husband, and my friends, my..."

"You can stay here and wallow about how unfair everything is; knowing it's pointless because doing so won't change anything that happened. Or you can show your famed Uzumaki spunk that makes the universe give up in exasperation" He grinned. "That's the Kushina I know, the Kushina everyone loves... and the Kushina who can still have a life with her son"

 _'Kushina, why do we fall?'_ She heard Tsukiko-Baachan's voice in her mind; she still had no answer but…

The redhead closed her eyes before she gazed down to her hands. Her breathing became steady, the old lessons of Baachan echoed in her mind. She soon rubbed her eyes as she looked up to Jiraiya. "Thanks."

"This place is awesome dattebayo!" Naruto cheered as he ran up the stairs with Karin who shared his enthusiasm more quietly but still smiled. Striding to the living room he saw his mom on the couch who smiled at him while Jiraiya stood with a grin.

"Glad you like it. Now this is long overdue. Welcome home Sochi."

* * *

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

* * *

Naruto had slept peacefully that night in the guest room, his original room was a still a baby's room, yeah that was something in the process of being fixed... While Karin had spent the night on the couch, he guessed once his room was ready the guest room would be hers. Having a home with a family was weird, but weird good.

Speaking of said family, he had spent all breakfast bombarding Karin with questions, a task his mother joined in while she made breakfast (It was one of the best meals he ever had, which made him very eager for the next if his mother was cooking it), where she was born, how was her childhood, her likes, her dislikes, the spectacle wearing girl took it all in stride... for the first five minutes. Afterwards she started looking... panicked, he guessed? She started making weird faces when the questions just wouldn't stop, muttering to her 'this is my life now...'. She must have been overwhelmed in joy by the idea that she had a family now.

Of course, part of the deal with Karin's probation was that wouldn't be let out of his mother's sight. Former agent or not, working for Orochimaru was a very grave matter after all. Not that Naruto believed there weren't ANBU watching them hiding somewhere.

So that meant Karin followed them everywhere, which honestly he was fine with, all the more time to get to know his cousin (and boy was it odd saying he had a cousin). Like right now, Karin was standing awkwardly to the side while his team gathered in their usual training ground, joined by Jiraiya and his mother for 'something special'.

"So what exactly did you need all of us for," Sasuke feinted annoyance while being genuinely curious while he glanced at Karin. The rest of Team 7 had been filled in on the presence of now a third Uzumaki in the village.

While her former affiliations with a certain snake made him wary. But the open honesty from the glasses wearing girl chose to give her the benefit of the doubt, if nothing else.

The Uchiha felt… glad for the blonde. But a part of him was more jealous than anything; here Naruto now had his mother, a family, while he still had to return to that empty place in the clan grounds…

But jealousy as unbefitting of his pride as an Uchiha, so he would push it aside.

Sakura wasted no time in talking to Karin, and the girls soon found out they had plenty in common, reading, studying techniques, they were of the same intellectual mindset so they quickly hit it off. The pinkette on her part was also very curious about what the sannin and the elder Uzumaki had planned, while Kakashi to had figured out what was going on. And things definitely would not be boring after this. So he remained quiet, smirked under his mask waiting to see the kids' faces. _'Wish I brought my camera for this.'_

"Well," Kushina said sweetly wearing her old ANBU pants and sleeveless shirt smirked; "While yes this is something for Naruto and Karin, I wanted everyone here because this will be something you might gain yourselves down the line. A summoning!"

That immediately got a reaction. Summonings were indeed a very valuable asset to a ninja, but not everyone could say they had one signed. A contract with an animal clan was a difficult affair, some clans were little more than mercenaries and you could be whisked away in a moment's notice, much like one did when summoning a creature to fight for you or assist you in such a manner. You repaid their services in kind if that were the case, others were content with money, other valuables, or even favors.

Then there were those contracts built on familiarity, either passed down by a family or forged with trust by the user. Those were more intimate, based on friendship and camaraderie.

"You have a summoning contract?" Naruto asked excited.

Kakashi rolled his eye and snorted. The kids had no idea.

"Boy do I!" Kushina beamed before curiously looking at Jiraiya. "Wait, have you had him sign the Toad Contract yet?"

"Haven't had the time. Figured you could first do a demonstration, I do know 'they' will be happy to see you again"

A somber smile formed on the older Uzumaki, soon before she turned three shades white; "Genryu is probably really pissed right now."

"You think," Kakashi and Jiraiya drawled. "They likely noticed your chakra signature become active again on their end. I'm surprised they haven't reversed summoned you yet Kushina-sama," Kakashi spoke with interest.

Kushina squinted; "If I know that old grouch he wants me to summon him so he can yell at me personally." She shivered recounting the times she got her summoning angry. A thought came to her as she tuned to Sasuke; "Do you have your mother's Tiger contract?"

 _'Tiger contract?'_ The Uchiha lifted a brow; "My mother had her own summoning? First I ever heard of it."

"Well, I'm not surprised you weren't told. I mean, yeesh, the Uchiha weren't happy with that particular situation"

"They weren't?" That was strange, what was so bad about his mother having a contract?

"Ohoho boy no! It was quite the drama back in the day. Has to do with Mikoto's grandfather or something having the contract, but he wasn't from the clan and only his descendants could sign it and nobody else, and the clan wasn't too happy about it of course and-" Upon seeing the bewildered expression on his face she stopped her rant. "Oh wow, you really had no idea didn't you"

"None whatsoever..." He had been fairly certain his mother was completely pureblooded Uchiha like his father. "Why didn't anyone say anything?"

"Oh your elders probably didn't like to admit their strongest member wasn't fully born from the clan. They were assholes like that"

That caused Sasuke to frown darkly. "That's my clan you're insulting"

"I'm insulting the people in charge at the time, you probably were too young to understand, but the elders who lead your clan Sasuke? They were horrible people" She clicked her teeth as her expression hardened. "Mi-chan deserved better than following their orders all her life..."

She then realized the very uncomfortable and awkward looks she was receiving, particularly the one coming from Mikoto's youngest. One look at Jiraiya's disapproving glare told her _'Not the time'_. She had gotten a bit off-track again hadn't she?

Coughing into her hand, she tried to get back on topic. "I-I'll help you look for the contract later. Anyway! How about you guys meet my clan's partners?!"

Karin adjusted her glasses, welcomed to subject change and just as curious; "I know Hatake-san has the dog summoning from profiles while Jiraiya-sama obviously has the toads given his title. But not even mom told me about our clan's summoning."

Well showing was better than talking, and Kushina soon bit her thumb before going into several hand-seals and slamming her hand to the ground a seal soon spread from her palm outwards; " _Kuchiyose no Jutsu_!"

A massive plume of smoke engulfed the entire training ground catching the kids off guard. They soon froze upon hearing a loud and deep bestial growl. As the smoke faded, they all looked up and up...

It's body was serpentine, silver scales shone in the morning sun, having legs and arms with four like claws on each limb, a snouted lizard-like head with razor sharp teeth in its maw. Antlers the top of its head with long white mane. It let out a roar so powerful they all had to cover their ears and felt the very ground beneath them shook.

 **"KUSHINA UZUMAKI!"**

A dragon... oh great gods in Heaven it was a dragon.

The dragon clans were a rare sight in the Elemental Nations. Seldom did they interact at all with humans, they preferred to stay away from their politics and power plays. There were many stories about the great serpents, rumors about how they would only speak with those of their choosing. The one great exception being a clan that lived at sea as the stories went.

And that clan just happened to be...

They back away in fright as the dragon lowered its head until it was face to face with Kushina, who kept widely smiling despite his clear anger.

 **"WHERE IN BLAZES HAVE YOU BEEN?!"** The silver scaled beast roared. **"WE THOUGHT WE BURIED YOU THAT DAY, THAT THE CONTRACT LINE HAD COME TO AN END, BUT THEN WE FIND THE SIGNATURE OF YOUR CHAKRA IN THE SCROLL ACTIVE! MEANING YOU WERE ALIVE ALL THIS TIME!"**

Kushina cheerfully waved at him; "Hey Genryu! Sorry I made you guys worry!"

 **"TCH?!"** A trail of irritation filled sweat travel down his brow, clearly taken aback by her nonchalant attitude towards the whole matter. Taking a deep breath, which made nearby grass flutter forward to his nostrils, the dragon calmed himself down and exhaled. **"You have five minutes to explain yourself, or I swear on my ancestors you will regret it"**

Well it took longer than five minutes but Kushina had the great dragon's complete attention. Genryu let out a throaty growl; **"A dangerous gamble using an untested seal."**

"But it worked, I'm still here." Kushina spoke with resolution before she turned to her son and Karin; "and have my son and a niece to raise."

Genryu focused his eyes to Naruto and Karin who froze. **"I bid you greetings hatchlings. I am Genryu, chief of the dragon clan."** He looked closer to Naruto; **"You look more Namikaze than Uzumaki."**

"...That good or bad?"

A rumble from the great dragon's throat; **"It makes you unique. And that is never a bad thing hatchling."**

The youths let their eyes wonder over the mighty creature that projected an aura of awe and majesty. Their instincts told them this was an old being, powerful and wise. They had only seen the likeness of his kind depicted in paintings, storybooks (and more than a few toys), to be in the presence of one of the reclusive dragons was a dream many children had.

In contrast with their astonished expressions, Kakashi and Jiraiya acted very casual regarding the whole 'there is a dragon here' thing. "Yo, Genryu-sama" Kakashi lifted a hand in greeting.

"Long time no see" Jiraiya added with a smile.

 **"Ahhh, Hatake. Toad Sage. Indeed, I have not seen you in some time"** The dragon greeted back with a nod of its large head.

Karin let out an explosive breath; "I... wow I just... I heard the stories but I didn't believe them" Yet it brought even more questions. "But if Uzushio had you all along how did it fall in the first place?"

Genryu's gaze darkened, and Karin felt she had said something she shouldn't.

 **"...The battle waged all those years was against more than just men"** The dragon chief replied, his voice laced with anger. A very old type of anger, one that bordered in hate even. **"But that is a tale for another time. And I would rather not stain this moment with painful memories. Now is a day of celebration, Kushina yet lives, and so does the main branch of the Uzumaki clan. Meaning that the dragon contract can continue its honored tradition"**

On instinct Naruto rubbed the back of his neck; "I'm new to being a part of an actual clan. But I hope to be a good summoner." Absently Sakura rubbed her friend's back with a reassuring smile.

Genryu lifted a brow at that and glanced to Kushina who waved it off. He turned his attention Karin who stood a bit straighter and spoke; "I'd be honored to follow in the footsteps of the Uzumaki of legends Genryu-sama."

Giving a nod, the silver dragon lowered his right hand as a blue scroll being the same size as the one Jiraiya carried puffed into existence. Kushina soon took it and unfurled it. The kids leaned in and blinked at the contents; "Only your name is on here mom."

The older redhead gave a mournful nod; "When Uzu was destroyed so was the summoning scroll, along with all the names of those who had signed the contract. So a new one had to be made, this one"

And for it to have only her name… it meant the dragons had not found another Uzumaki ever since. That was a depressing thought.

Kushina shook off the sadness before smiling; "Well go ahead you two. Bite you thumbs and sign your names beside mine."

Both Karin and Naruto felt a rush of excitement as they bit down on their finger and wrote their names. Genryu himself grinned; it felt good seeing names back on the summoning scroll once again.

"What are the handseals?" Karin asked as she finished first. Kakashi stepped in explaining the correct signs which both Sakura and Sasuke watched carefully.

 **"Give it a try hatchlings!"** Genryu's own enthusiasm shone through along with Kushina's as she bounced on the balls of her feet.

Naruto and Karin performed the handseals; _'Boar - Dog - Bird - Monkey - Ram'_ both shout together; " _Kuchiyose no Jutsu_!" and slammed their hands on the ground.

Naruto was hyped beyond belief; they actually had a contract with dragons! Freaking DRAGONS! Oh he just couldn't wipe the smile on his face as the smoke cleared, revealing-!

"Oh, this isn't my house"

...Two little grass snake-sized critters.

Huh.

Alright perhaps he got a bit too hyped there. Maybe he should have applied more chakra. Karin didn't share his disappointment, though she was staring fascinated at the small blue scaled dragon she had summoned. Naruto took a good look at his own summon, the one who had voice his confusion, he was red which was kind a cool actually, a very nice shade.

"Am I to be a companion?" The blue one said, staring with reverence at Karin. "It must mean the scroll has been signed. It is an honor, my lady" He (Naruto thought it was a he) bowed his head. "I am Yasu, and I am your partner from now on"

Well, that was a respectful little fellow.

His own summon on the other hand still looked very lost, it's little eyes looked everywhere, settling on the great silver dragon above them.

"Oh hi great chief" He waved with his little hand.

 **"Ahhh, Hien and Yasu, I remember you"** The great dragon nodded. **"They are young, but they will grow alongside you"**

Hien turned back to the blond who summoned him bowing; "Greetings. I am Hien." He took a long look at Naruto; "...Are you Uzumaki? Apologizes for being rude, but I was told Uzumakis were all redheads." The blond slumped forward.

Well, he was polite if nothing else.

Jiraiya cleared his throat; "Alright now my turn. I have another summoning for Naruto which belongs to me and your father Minato."

 **"AH!"** Genryu chuckled in reminiscence; **"I have not seen the Toads in ages! How is that surly old Gamabunta doing?"**

"Still the same surly old bastard you remember," The Gama-Sannin drawled as he took off the scroll from his back and unfurled it. He glanced to the rest of the kids; "Sorry but this one is just for the brat."

Sakura waved it off; "I'm fine, still have to train myself before thinking of summoning I think."

"I'm going to look for my mother's tiger summoning scroll when I get home." Sasuke simply stated as he watched Hien and Yasu.

Hien looked curiously as he floated on Naruto's shoulder. The blond glanced to him; "You okay with that?"

The little red dragon gave a nod; "It would be an experience meeting the Toads."

With that Naruto looked at the names on the scroll; "Who the hell's Arashi?" Why wasn't his father's name there? He should have been the last person to sign it right?

Then his mother started to laugh. Like, a lot. She had to hold her stomach while tears appeared at the edge of her eyes, threatening to spill. Her knees buckled as she struggled not to fall and roll around on the ground. Okay?

Jiraiya face-faulted; "Can't believe I forgot about that" He sighed. "That's your father's signature"

"...Say wha?"

Kakashi chuckled; "That is indeed your father's name, Naruto"

"It says Arashi," Sakura drawled, squinting.

"Look at the kanji properly, it's actually 'Minato'"

It took them a second to process that. "He was a seal master" Sasuke said incredulously, "HOW could his calligraphy have been so horribly his own name is nearly unrecognizable?"

"In Minato's defense" Jiraiya spoke on behalf of his student, "He was really drunk at the time"

Now did Kushina fall to the ground laughing.

Sweat-dropping Naruto shook his head as his signed his name beside his father's on the Toad summoning scroll. And soon going through the handseals he slammed his hand to the ground; "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

In a puff of smoke a small orange toad with purple markings around his eyes, mouth and stomach appeared wearing a blue jacket. "Huh?" The toad blinked as he looked around; "Where the heck am I?!" He turned seeing a blond human who knelt down at him with a floating red dragon? "You summoned me?"

Naruto grinned; "Yup. Naruto Uzumaki. Nice to meet ya! This is Hien." He thumbed to red dragon.

"Hello."

"Gamakichi huh?" Jiraiya spoke as he rubbed his chin, "That's the toad chief Gamabunta's eldest son"

"Oh great, the pervert's here. Pop's gonna love this" The toad drawled unenthusiastically.

"Well I can see you got your father's attitude..."

"Oh ignore the old man" Naruto waved it off, following his own advice by ignoring indignant cry of _'Hey!'_ "We're gonna be partners from now on!"

"R-Really?" Gamakichi didn't sound so sure. "Look, I'm flattered but I don't really know a lot about fighting"

"Hey not a problem, the three of us can grow strong together" Naruto said, ever the optimist, before turning to his dragon partner. "Right Hien?"

The dragon asked; "How does one 'fight'?"

Naruto and Sakura face faulted at that, much to the amusement of the adults present.

Sasuke deadpanned, "Fantastic"

 **"Now, now"** The great dragon spoke with his booming voice, **"We all started young, what's important is that you all grow strong together"**

"Woah!" The small toad had pretty much fallen on the palms of his paws, thrown back by sheer shock at the sight of the great dragon. "Y-Y-You're chief Genryu of the Eastern Sea Clan!"

 **"Greetings young tadpole. Tell your father I'm still waiting for those seven bottles of sake he owes me from losing to Shogi."**

Everyone face faulted saved Kushina who just laughed.

* * *

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

* * *

Well today had been an interesting day to say the least. Back home as night settled in, Naruto could say he was both still excited and worn out. He had gained two summoning contracts. Along with befriending his personal summonings Hien and Gamakichi. They were different, almost like night and day with Hien being so formal and Gamakichi being a smart-ass.

After having one of the best home-cooked meals ever, everyone deiced to head for bed. Now that the blond's room now had been properly refurnished with a bed instead of crib, he could sleep there.

It still felt like some weird dream...

He turned on the light to his room. Was about the same size of his old bedroom in his apartment. But it just felt different, he couldn't explain it, was this what kids felt like having parents and being in their own home?

Naruto was still adjusting to the fact he wasn't an orphan anymore. He walked over to the dresser by his bed, looking at all the pictures of his friends. Till he noticed something sticking out from the top dresser drawer. Opening it he eyes shot open seeing an envelope with his name and another below it 'Your father'.

Time froze, he could feel his heart pounding; _'D-dad.. When did he..._ ' Almost cautiously he took the letter and sat down on the bed. His hand shook as he opened the envelope taking out a piece of folded paper.

Unfolding it he saw his name again; ' _To Naruto; Hey kiddo, in about one month you're going to be born, I can still remember your mother telling me she was pregnant like it was just yesterday'_ He could almost feel the joy with which his father had written those words. _'I'll admit I'm terrified, out of all the things I've done being a father is completely new territory to me. Mine didn't live to see me become the man I am today, so I don't have a lot of experience in that field'_

Hmm, some things just repeated themselves it seemed, Naruto thought grimly before resuming his reading with rapt attention.

 _'But I know this life... isn't easy. This is why I'm writing this, in case anything happens to me. Hopefully you'll have your mom there, be patient with her kiddo, Uzumaki are a rowdy bunch. But, considering you're half Uzumaki I find myself doubting your ability to be patient'_

Well, he wasn't wrong in that regard. The blonde thought with humor.

 _'If you're reading this, then it means my fears have become reality. And I won't be there to hold you, teach you, guide you along whatever path you choose. For that I am sorry, first thing a parent needs to do is to be there and I already failed in that regard'_

Naruto felt his eyes watering. No, it wasn't his fault.

 _'So, I want you know these things; this world isn't kind, it will try to bring you down every chance it gets. But yours is the choice to either bow in defeat or stand on your feet and make it back down, and I know you'll have the strength to make these lands a better place. You're my son after all'_

His father... trusted in him so much?

 _'Take care of your mom, she already went through so much and she deserves to be happy. In her I always saw a spirit and strength that dwarfed my own or anyone I've ever known, really, I can't think of anyone who loves life more than her. She always knew what to say, never won an argument against her...'_

Even through the tears falling down his eyes, he couldn't help but smile.

 _'You two carry the legacy of a proud nation and a great clan. Remember you are a child of both the Uzumaki and the Namikaze, so you can be as gentle or ferocious as the waves, yet free as the wind. That potential to be your own person is yours alone and nobody can take that from you.'_

To be his own person, someone who shaped his own destiny... that's what his father wanted for him.

 _'But above all, I want you to be happy. And know that no matter what happens, I'll always be with you'_

 _'I love you.'_

 _'Your father, Minato Namikaze'_

The blond's body shook as his tears grew in earnest. All his dad ever wanted was for him to be happy and shape his own future. He had heard that from Kakashi, Hiruzen, Jiraiya, even his own mother. But now, looking at this paper that was written by his father. He knew now, his father truly meant it.

Whatever lingering anger he had for his father faded in an instant upon reading that letter. "D-dad," His was horse as the tears flowed.

* * *

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

* * *

Restless was what Kushina could sum her feelings right now. So here she was strolling silently through the hallway before stopping at the guest room smiling seeing Karin soundlessly sleeping. To think she'd run into Kirika-chan's kid. She felt a small pang in her chest knowing she'd never see her cousin again.

She shook her head, no sense in being wishy washy. She turned and kept moving through her home and came to notice Naruto's room light was on. Nearing the door she found her son fast asleep on his bed. Though not dress for the night, poor thing must have crash the moment he came in. Walking in and about to cover her son with his blanket, she noticed a paper in his hand.

Curiosity got the best of her and deftly took it without disturbing her son. Unfolding it she froze as she saw the handwriting. _'Minato wrote this!'_ her surprise soon turned somber as tears threatened to come from her eyes. Of course he planned ahead, he always did...

She choked down a sob as she noticed there was a message for her hidden in the letter. Something she had taught him how to do when they were Genin. His message was simple, but just as heartfelt as his words to their son.

 _'Be. Happy.'_

How?

Just... how?

How could she deal with all this? Minato was gone, Mikoto was gone and...

She took a shuddering deep breath, fighting back the sudden wave of negativity surging within her. No, she couldn't wallow in pity, that wasn't her. Kushina placed the covers over her son and turned off the lights, carefully placing the note on his nightstand, and returned to her room.

She looked at the bed meant for two people, it just felt so empty... She couldn't, or rather didn't want to, sleep on that bed. Not yet.

Kushina walked over the window to open it, she needed some air to cool her head.

 _'How am I going to do this without you, Minato?'_ She thought mournfully, _'I'd give anything for you to be here right now, for Mi-chan to be here, for mom to actually come to her senses and come back... I... I need someone to help me, anyone...'_

"Hey" Jiraiya's voice came from the roof, and she saw him sitting there with a bottle of sake at his side. The pale moonlight showed his slightly pink cheeks from the alcohol. "Want a drink?"

Kushina did not question why he was on her roof drinking, she merely sat next to him and joined him. Drinking with someone was much better than drinking alone.

Jiraiya placed his arm around her; "It's all gonna be okay, child"

And for a moment, Kushina believed him. Heh, the pervert was always there for her. "You're the closest thing I have to a father in my life, you know that?"

Jiraiya softly smiled, "...That's sad"

"Tch, tell me about it"

Their cups clinked against each other in toast and remembrance for the man who meant so much to both of them, to the people they lost, and for the strength to soldier on.

They were ninja, that's what they did best after all.

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

 **For those who wish to be in the know:**

 **Next** ; Dragon Age Origins: Dovahkiin 'Two Chapters'

 **Followed by** ; Anbu Sennin: A Final Fantasy VII Story 'Two Chapters'

 **Then back to** ; Naruto: Shoton of Konoha 'Two Chapters'


	24. Past moments remembered

**Disclaimer:** We do not own Naruto

 **Co-Author and Beta** : Etheral-23

 **Chapter 24: Past moments remembered and training begins**

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 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

Naruto as a principle hated hospitals. Sure it was a place where people went to get healed, but the mere thought of having to stay in a room, doing nothing but to lay in a bed, eating horrible food, just waiting until he got better was enough to drive him mad.

But, there was someone he wanted to check up on. So he endured, walking down its white halls as he reached his destination.

Naruto, being Naruto, did not bother knocking on the door and just opened it with a shove, bearing a beaming smile as to cheer up the person occupying the room. Had a nurse or doctor been nearby, they would have given him a long winded talk too about proper etiquette when in a hospital.

"What's up Hinata?!" He always thought it was best to be as cheerful and energetic as possible when trying to cheer up someone up.

The purple haired girl let out a frightened yelp and nearly fell of her bed.

At her reaction the blond winced; "Ah damn, sorry. Didn't mean to scare ya."

"N-N-Naruto-Kun?!" Once righting herself on the bed the Hyuuga heiress felt her heart rate skyrocketing as shock etched on her face. Normally it was her sensei or teammates, her sister, of some members of the Hyuuga that had visited her since after she regained consciousness.

But the last person she ever expected to visit her was the blond she admired from afar. A blush dusted her cheeks as she shook her head; "N-no it's fine," the poor thing stammered shyly. "W-Why are you here?"

At that the young Uzumaki scratched his head; "Well, after what happened with Neji-teme I wanted to check on you. He went after you so bad, even though you're cousins."

Pearly eyes became downcast, her mind recalling everything perfectly in the prelims against Neji. How he went after her with every intention to cause harm if not possibly kill her. She knew his reasons, however it wasn't something she could or would openly share.

It turned out she did not have to keep them hidden, as Naruto soon made that known. "I... I heard what happened, to his dad" He muttered awkwardly, not knowing how to properly address the issue.

Hinata merely tightened her grasp on her bed sheets.

"I can get how he's angry at Kumo" He continued. "Back in the forest, were it not that Orochimaru creep was still out there, I don't think I could have convinced him to not pick a fight with Kumo. The way he looked at them..."

It was hate. Pure hate. Neji wanted nothing more than to see them die, but circumstances robbed him of that chance. So, he took out that murderous anger on his sweet little cousin who couldn't even harm a fly, which made absolutely no sense to Naruto.

"You were just a kid" He said, shaking his head slightly. "Why does he hate you so much too?"

Hinata's gaze her, the sadness in her eyes evident. "M-Maybe, he hates what I represent. H-He sees me a-and sees the Hyuuga clan entirely... the worst parts of it, t-the ones that chain the branch family"

"O-kaaaay that is really stupid" Naruto did not mince his words. "Has he actually spoken to you at all? I mean, I reeeeeeally don't think you're anything like your clan elders"

"It doesn't matter" She shook her head. "I am from the main family. And what happen with Uncle Hizashi" She sighed. "Maybe it was my fault. For being too weak..."

Was this girl for real? Here she was in the hospital because her cousin was insane enough to nearly kill her out of spite for something that had been beyond her control. And now she was saying it was all her fault when Kumo was to blame? Oh for the love of...

"Oh hell no"

Her pearly eyes turned to him in surprise. "Huh?" She soon blushed when Naruto approached her bed, resting his hands on it and getting to close for her comfort.

"I ain't gonna let you take blame for any of this crap" Naruto said strongly. "Kumo are assholes, your elders are assholes, and Neji is being an asshole. You have NOTHING to take the blame for. You have every right to be angry at them, at Neji"

"N-No!" The mere thought of being angry at Neji was simply impossible for her. "Of course not, I love Neji"

It honestly took Naruto aback that she spoke those words so earnestly and honestly. Most people would harbor any kind of resentment considering what other people did to her. Naruto would go as far as to say she did not harbor any ill will towards Kumo at all. He briefly looked at her head to see if there was no halo there, 'cause for gods' sake this girl was a freaking angel...

Yeesh, what did such a nice little thing like Hinata ever do to be deserve all the bullshit people put her through?

Naruto could say he was a forgiving person in his own right, but he had a limit. Hinata did not have one apparently; she was a very rare type of person. And that wasn't a bad thing in truth. But sadly her demeanor caused others to walk all over her.

The blond could only look at the girl as he shook his head; "You're one hell of good person," Hinata blushed at the compliment. "Wish I spoke to you sooner."

At that the lavender haired girl lifted a brow; "We have talked before." Seeing his bewildered expression made her smile sadly; "You forgot..."

"...When did we..." Naruto blinked several times. He was damn sure this was first time they spoke to each other properly, in the Academy aside from a passing word or something they've never had a long conversation before. He was sure of it. "I..."

"When we were younger. I-I ran away from the compound and bumped into some boys. They bullied me until you showed up. You got beaten up but you defended me without a second thought." Naruto only looked on wide eyed; "And then another time it was around winter..." The more spoke the more Naruto felt like, well, now _he_ was the asshole.

That's where his old scarf came from? Oh... good gods he was a moron. How could he have forgotten?! Then again his memory wasn't the best at times, and his focus had the tendency to drift away as well. It always brought him trouble in the academy, but now with what Hinata told him, the fact that he forgot something like that worried him it would become a real problem down the-

No! No, focus! This was precisely the problem!

He looked at the shy girl with apprehension. What could he possibly say? Even he realized he had hurt her a bit by not remembering that small bit of kindness she had given him those years ago.

"I'm sorry I forgot" It was not the best, but it was what he honestly felt.

"It's okay" She actually seemed to smile a bit. "You were... so brave. All the time smiling, even when the world wasn't kind to you" He could only stare at her, mouth slightly open. "I admired that strength you showed, I still do. I wish... I wish I could be strong like you"

Just hearing that made him look in awe at her. And for what she said made him rub the back of his neck; "How about we start over?" Hinata blinked; "I can't really call myself a good person if I'm not there for someone who showed me so much kindness." She was about to object but Naruto lifted his head; "I know you're fine with it, but I'm not. So how about start as proper friends this time okay/"

He extended his hand; "Deal?"

Though her cheeks blushed profusely she reached over taking his, it was warm; "Deal."

* * *

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

* * *

Her steps were almost in trance-like as Kushina journeyed through the now empty section of the Uchiha grounds. She could remember the bustle of Uchiha who roamed all over this place, from child to elderly. The various shopkeepers whom greeted you with warm smiles and kindness...

Now there a silence so unbearable it might as well be deafening. The buildings were empty, bereft of the warmth and care provided by families.

The great Uchiha clan, caught in a web of mistrust, ambition and betrayals, slain in a single night. Itachi forced through the impossible task of choosing between the greater good, his loyalty to the village, and his loyalty to the clan and its ambitions.

Her fist slowly tightened until her arm shook. She punched a wall so hard it produced a small series of spider web cracks around it.

"Mi-chan..." She whispered, as though calling her name would fix everything.

It did not.

Mikoto was still dead. The clan was nearly gone. Itachi was still a criminal in the eyes of the village when he had actually carried out the greatest sacrifice in its name.

She took comfort in the memories she had left of her.

She recalled when they were kids at the Academy, Mikoto was a broody thing who didn't talk much to anyone, everyone else was very annoying to her back then, and she didn't like how that girl sulked all by herself. So she had decided to be her friend, even if it killed her.

More than one time had Mikoto told her to go away, which Kushina knew in Uzumaki tongue truly meant; Yes, I'd love to hang out, please keep pestering me more. And so she did. What a good friend she was.

When they graduated they were assigned to the same team, Sakumo-sensei had been the best teacher ever in her mind, and no one could ever replace him.

She had seen that shy little girl burst out of her shell to become a cheerful young woman, who always had a smile reserved for everyone important to her. She never let anything bring her down, not their harsh life as ninjas, not the horrible battles they've partaken in... Nor her arranged marriage to Fugaku…

She had been down for a time; Fugaku really wouldn't have been what Kushina would have chosen for Mikoto. Always so serious with no time for fun. He had been... decent enough (that was the most she's ever complimented him, not because he was a bad guy, she just disliked him on a senseless personal level), strong and treated her friend well, but still to Kushina, Mikoto had always deserved more. The future leader of the Uchiha clan needed heirs, and Mikoto was their strongest kunoichi. It was only logical.

How she hated that word sometimes.

Now her dislike for the man was amplified to outright hatred. She despised Fugaku, his ambition and that of the elders' caused all this. Mikoto barely resisted them; they took her voice the moment she learnt she speak, tugged at the invisible strings and made her dance like their puppet. Because in their eyes, the best thing that ever came out of their clan was nothing more than a tool.

Mikoto deserved better. Kushina should have done something; she shouldn't have given up so easily and maybe then-

...No. There was no purpose in lamenting it anymore, she had accepted it and move on. The past was the past, there was no changing it.

A long sigh came from the redhead as she turned the corner she came to a stop at the sight of Sasuke nearing his house. The young Uchiha paused upon seeing her, silence hung for several minutes till it became uncomfortable for both of them. "Hello," Kushina weakly muttered.

"Why are you here?" It was more curiosity in the Uchiha's tone than anything at the sight of Naruto's mother (That was still getting use to that) who seemed to hall roamed through the empty Uchiha district.

"Came to check on you." This was the honest truth but also; "Wanted to walk through here. I remember when this place was so busy..." She paused as she thought she might have talked too much.

Sasuke blinked at her before showing some sense of reminiscing; "Yeah." Something urged him to talk more though he had no idea why. "Did you know any other Uchiha?"

"Hazuki." Mikoto's son lifted a brow; "Uh she had a daughter Izumi. She was with-"

"My brother..." A soft bitter growl came from the boy.

Oh that angry demeanor was not good, "Want to know more about your mom?" That got his attention; "I didn't really tell everything about her when you met me in that hospital wing. Or after I got out"

"You were busy letting the village know you came back. The place hasn't stopped buzzing since." It's been less than week and the village had been alive like never before. "Plus you and Naruto and that Karin girl needed the family time... I'm glad on that part." Shock etched on the redhead's face, well there was more to the boy than brooding at least; "Don't tell Naruto I said that."

Kushina snorted at Sasuke's stern gaze; "Yup you're Mi-chan's boy alright. Well I promised some more stories about the badass that was your mom."

At Sasuke's invitation, she entered the house. It... Really wasn't much, there were a few decorations, clan iconography and such but aside from that it didn't have a 'homey' feel to it. Sasuke lived by himself on a simple flat, choosing to stay away from his old family home for obvious reasons.

Kushina huffed at sight. This place really needed a woman's touch, a mother's more specifically. Perhaps she could get Sasuke some plants at least; they always lightened up a place.

"I was going to look through my mother's things" He said as they walked through the dining room. "I have them in a few boxes" He directed her towards a closet, from which he took out at least three boxes. "But I never came across anything of the sort like a summoning contract"

"Hmph, your mother wouldn't leave something like that in the open" Kushina snorted. "The contract was with her line alone, that's something your great-grandfather made clear"

Sasuke momentarily stopped from browsing through the various items that belonged to his mother, from books to scrolls, to give the Uzumaki a puzzled look. "What do you mean that?"

"Oh, you were never told. Yeah, not surprised..." There was anger creeping into her voice as she her gaze hardened. "Your elders wanted to forgot the best kunoichi of the clan wasn't of 'pure blood' like them"

"What?" Now she had Sasuke's full attention. He noticed the hate in her voice but kept quiet on that.

"Well your grandfather on your mother's side was not an Uchiha. While his old man was the sage of the Tiger clan. Mi-Chan's mother met him... Oh when was it? OH, the spring festival in the village. The elders back then were upset about that too. But being the Tiger Sage was close to the village and the village upheld the traditions when it came to sages." Kushina stopped before she sweatdrops; "I'm rambling..."

Sasuke's dry look told her much before she sighed; "Short version, the Uchiha elders hate outsiders marrying into the family. Purity of the bloodline like some other clans believe."

"I know about that, family marrying family. Usually cousins who are compatible to each other," Sasuke said nearly quoting things he learned from text.

"Well your clan took it a bit more." Kushina stated bluntly, she sighed. "Look Sasuke, I don't want to speak ill of the dead. But my own experiences with your clan elders, how they treated Uchiha who were not 'true Uchiha' in their eyes, left a very bad impression to say the least. Hazuki was a great woman, and her daughter Izumi was simply a rare gem, yet they still treated them like unwelcome guests because the man Hazuki fell in love with was not from the clan"

Sasuke honestly couldn't say he remembered the elders all that well, or a lot of Uchiha who supported their policies, he had been very young at the time. "And my mother?"

He needed to know, if the clan actually treated her the same way...

Kushina took a deep breath, sadness seeping through her voice. "You know, when she was asked why she became a ninja she always said 'It was the clan tradition'. When asked what her goals were, she said; 'To bring honor to my clan'. Clan this, clan that, always the clan, always what the clan said... I don't think they ever allowed her to make a single decision about her own life"

"Our missions outside the village, far away from the Uchiha. I saw bits of the real Mi-chan. It grew more when around her friends. But back home, she might as well been one of Suna's puppets." The redhead snarled with a huff. Her focus shifted back to the present upon hearing a low hiss.

A gasp came from her lips at the sight of fingertip impressions so deep in Sasuke's hands they started to bleed. Her maternal instincts kicked in as she held his hands inspecting his palms. "Need to bandage th-"

"Those bastards," Sasuke interrupted seething. "What the hell was my mother to them?" the venom in his tone was livid.

A long sigh came from the Uzumaki woman; "Let's take care of these hands."

Sasuke shook his head; "I'll be fine." He soon froze from the stern glare from Kushina. Reminded him of his mom the few times she got angry.

"Young man I will be helping you am I clear?" Sasuke on instinct gave a quick nod; "Mi-chan was like family to me. So that makes me responsible for you."

"I didn't ask you to be" The young Uchiha found it on himself to put boundaries on her attempts.

"Well, tough" She sternly replied. "That's what I'm gonna do" There was an absolute finality to her voice, and Sasuke realize he could not make her leave him alone. Like it or not, this would not go away, so he resigned himself to his fate. She took his hand and looked at it. "Here I thought that only happened to women, guess you like to keep your nails long too huh boy?" The redhead smiled at him teasingly.

But Sasuke refused get on her level, so he ignored her jab, "Hmph"

"Oh great, another grumpy Uchiha-head" Her smile just grew, "No room for humor in that thick head of yours?"

Then she did something that made Sasuke's heart beat furiously. She raised two fingers and aimed them at his forehead.

He quickly grabbed them before they could touch his skin.

The woman became paralyzed at his reaction, watching as he took in deep breaths to calm himself.

"...Don't do that" He muttered, his voice heavy, and let her fingers go.

Kushina slowly retracted her head, "I'm sorry" She had done something wrong, she just knew it. "T-This is how I used to tease your..." And fell silent.

"Just" Sasuke took one final deep breath. "Don't do it again"

The redhead's eyes were filled with shame and guilt. "Alright... Go wash your hand"

After some dressing Sasuke's hands the two went over to the boxes that belonged to Mikoto. The two had been quiet for the most part, Kushina not wanting to say anything till he was comfortable. "So, mom's father. Did you know him?" The young Uchiha asked as they searched for the Tiger summoning scroll.

"A bit, he died around when we became Jounin and I was selected into ANBU. He was a neat guy, stern but had a decent sense of humor."

"And my great-grandfather?"

"Oof, now that guy was a mystery for me" Kushina let out a quick breath. "Rarely remember seeing him at all myself. Being a sage and all, he traveled everywhere"

"And he didn't serve Konoha you said?" He raised a brow when remembering that tidbit of information. "I don't believe a village would let go of an asset like that"

"Oh sages get special treatment, some can choose to associate themselves with a village out of duty or personal honor, and others don't hold any affiliation at all. Though, well, it varies from village to village how much they actually respect those traditions. Kumo or Iwa, pffft, you can bet your ass they wouldn't let go of someone with senjutsu. But here in Konoha, we still honor the role of sages"

"I see"

"Doesn't mean your elders were happy though, oh no" She snorted. "They wanted the Tiger Contract to be tied to the Uchiha, but Mikoto's grandfather and the tiger clan made it clear the only people who could sign it would be of his direct lineage"

"And you think it'd work for me"

"Sure" She shrugged. "You're not that distantly related from your great-grandfather that it wouldn't work, if you were that would require deliberation between tiger boss and elders to decide if you can sign it. But don't worry" She playfully nudged him with her elbow. "If that's the case I can put in a good word for you through the dragons, they're old friends with the tigers regardless of what myths say"

"It's good to have connections" The Uchiha dryly said.

Kushina beamed at him as they continued searching through the items in the box in the hopes of finding the precious contract. Kushina's attention was soon directed towards a piece of paper sticking out from within the pages of a notebook. It was through idle curiosity that she pulled it out; the texture revealed it was a photograph, and she was currently staring at its white back.

Flipping it over, her eyes widened when she realized what it was, she had an exact same copy.

It was them, when they were younger, among friends and their sensei. The two were holding a cake in their hands, gifting it to a sheepish looking Sakumo who looked so very touch. On the cake were the words 'Happy Birthday Sensei'.

Kushina let out a soft breath and smiled with melancholy. Those simpler, happier times.

She brushed a thumb over the picture, it looked so well preserved even after all these years. Mikoto must have used one of the seals she herself taught the Uchiha to keep simple things from weathering down with the passage of time.

Kushina sometimes longed for those moments again, with the friends she lost and never had the chance to say goodbye to. With Mikoto, to tell her after all this time she still...

Sasuke noticed the picture she was looking it, and his gaze softened as he himself saw what it depicted. The way his mother smiled there, he couldn't help but think of how her life was within the clan now that he knew more about it...

"Was she happy, in the end?" He asked, barely above a whisper. "With her life being how it was?"

"Oh Sasuke" Kushina set down the picture. "She loved you both so much" She assured him, there was no ifs or buts, as long as Mikoto was with her boys, she was happy.

Sasuke looked away, telling himself something just got into his eye.

"Which is why" Kushina pulled out one final item from the last box. "She would want you to have this"

She held the item reverently in front of her, treating it like a sacred treasure.

A red scroll with gold embroidery, the etchings of a tiger figure carved into a golden token hanging from the scroll's thread.

Sasuke took every detail of the scroll to memory. His hand moves as if it had a mind of its own. Almost delicate was his touch as his fingers sled across the tiger figure. This was the legacy of his mother, her father, and great-grandfather. He honestly did not know if he could measure up to them. But he'd damn sure make them proud.

Still, "I need to think this over." Gently he took the scroll in his hands. His eyes never leaving it once. "Need to sort out everything you told me."

A grin grew on the redhead's lips; "You got it. Take all the time you want." She knew somehow Mikoto would be happy in knowing her father's side of the family was being passed on. For that, Kushina smiled quite happily.

* * *

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

* * *

Sakura liked to consider herself a focused person. The kind that would plan ahead, determined to overcome any challenge with maximum efficiency. She wanted to grow, not just in strength but as a person, taking this ninja life with the necessary amount of seriousness and dedication she had not given it when she first started.

She would not be the little girl she once was. She would not be afraid, and she would not back away from a challenge.

Which kind of felt flat when she remembered her opponent in the finals was going to be Neji, all the readiness to fight went out the window and her plans were pretty much replace with the words _'You're screwed_ ', repeating over and over in her mind.

She groaned, running her hands through her hair and throwing her head back, uncaring that some people in the street were giving her a strange look. Except for the ninjas, they knew when a fellow shinobi was on the edge of going nuts, so they respected her need to vent.

She was barely going over what strategy Kakashi suggested she could use against Neji, first she needed to train her body more. Because against a Byakugan user of Neji's caliber, if you weren't physically able enough then he'd wipe the floor with you...

Never mind the Hyuuga taijutsu being one the deadliest forms of hand to hand. She was grateful that Naruto's mom wanted to help train her too. She did not think her or Naruto could have looked anymore dumbstruck in hearing the taijutsu they were using, the one Naruto found, was actually Kushina's. Though the two did notice the Sandaime looking rather smug for some odd reason.

Regardless, Sakura had to really buckle down and train herself to the bone to defeat Neji in the 3rd round. A sigh escaped her lips as she stood straighter; "I can do this."

"Sakura!" Hearing her name, the rosette turned on her heels at the sight of Ino running up to her. "Went to your house to find you, but you weren't home."

Jade eyes blinked at least several times as she stared at the blond kunoichi; "You... wanted to see me?"

A dry look came from Ino; "Yes I wanted to see you, you that shocked?" A slow nod was the answer as she facepalmed before groaning and soon took a serious expression; "Well I wanted to speak with you. It's about... It's about how I've been lacking, as a kunoichi."

If her eyes grew any wider they would have popped out of Sakura's head. Ino was admitting she hasn't been a proper Kunoichi?! Well, she hadn't either but she sobered up thankfully. But this was Ino; she was always confident and fearless to anything that crossed her way.

"You and Naruto changed so much. I mean, Naruto was bad at nearly everything and now he-" she paused and paled some remembering when Naruto killed that Oto Ninja Dosu.

"Yeah" She tried not to think too much about it, even knowing killing was part of the course with their profession. "Nami was... a wake up call" The pinkette sighed. "Talk about it over tea?"

The Yamanaka smiled at her, "That sounds lovely"

It did not take them long to find a rather simple and small tea shop where they got a table and each ordered some tea.

"So" Ino said as she stirred the sugar in her tea with a spoon. "What happened in Nami?"

"The mission there turned out to be more dangerous than the original parameters stated, the client lied to us. There was a powerful business man who hired ninjas against him, not run of the mill mercenaries"

Ino looked surprised. "And you guys continued?" Of course they had, she heard they completed their mission. But still, most ninja would abandon the client after that.

"Of course we did" Sakura nodded. "There we ran into a jounin-level ninja that could match Kakashi-sensei. You've seen him, he's Kiri's team leader"

"...And you guys were so casual with your would be assassin right there next to you" The blonde muttered in disbelief.

Sakura shrugged; "We cleared things up between us. But really, I guess I'm thankful to him. Had things not happened like they did, I wouldn't have realized how... casual about being a ninja I was being. I hadn't even put nearly enough training, once I thought how unprepared I was I had two choices. Either retire once my required time of service was complete, like most civilian born ninja... or actually make something for myself. Prove I deserved to be a shinobi of this village"

The Yamanaka heiress was taken aback by the conviction in Sakura's voice. She never heard this side from the pinkette unless they were... A long sigh came from the blond; "Daddy was right, I should have thought about being a Kunoichi better."

"We both should have," The rosette admitted shamefully now thinking on how they acted. "Thankfully, like me you can change that too. Naruto and I have been training together since Nami. Why not join us some time?"

Ino blinked at that for a moment as she thought for moment. "Well, suppose I could after the 3rd exam is over with." But there was also something that needed to be cleared up; "We stopped being friends for a stupid reason didn't we?"

"Yup..."

Naruto's bluntness had certainly rubbed off on her old friend as she let out a chuckle; "Well I for one want to fix that, don't you?" _'..Maybe I should talk to Naruto some time too...'_

"Completely agree." Sakura smirked. "So! If you're interested in training together, you can join me during my morning routine. We start by doing two hundred push-ups"

"W-Wha?"

"Followed by two hundred sit ups. Then 50 laps across one of the training fields. And that's before the afternoon training with my team"

"...You're not imitating Gai and Lee are you?"

"This is light-weight stuff" Sakura said in a completely serious tone. "TRUST ME. You haven't seen how those two train, they always talk about those outlandish standards but..."

"Yeah?" Ino said tentatively.

"They're underselling it; they actually do MUCH MORE insane stuff..." She'd seen them; it was a mistake, now she regretted it.

Ino paled; "H-how insane does Naruto train?"

"Not at Gai and Lee's level thank the gods. But trust me; Naruto's methods are something only he can pull off." Especially since out their graduating class, only Naruto could use Kage Bunshin like that with the enormous amount of chakra he has.

"I'm in for a doozy aren't I?" The blond sweatdrops and internally shivered.

The rosette soon gave her childhood friend a look; "And you need to eat properly. Build up your body and muscles."

"Daddy already gave me an earful on that part after getting home. 'If my baby girl wants to be a kunoichi she needs meat on her bones'," Ino said, trying to imitate her father's voice.

Sakura had to cover her mouth as she snorted with a giggle. "Oh don't worry about bulking up too much. You've seen our kunoichi? A lot of them are basically models, and some of them train a lot more than my current routine"

Well, that was true. Ino idly remembered seeing Kiba's mother and sister train one time the team was invited to the Inuzuka house in their district. The clan matriarch was extremely fit, having lithe and agile body with high muscular definition. Whereas her daughter Hana looked the ideal image of a woman.

Ino still felt jealous about the bust Kiba's sister possessed.

But Ino supposed it was rather shallow to think too much on her appearance. She was a shinobi once, and if she didn't start taking it more seriously than it'd cost her and her team. She wasn't about to let that happen.

"Our teams can train together" The blonde proposed. "Asuma-sensei is really putting us through our paces after the three of us lost in the prelims"

"I bet" Sakura chuckled. "I think you guys would benefit a lot, even Jiraiya-sama is watching our training closely"

The Yamanaka's gaze flickered. "That's... Not the only person I hear"

"Hmm?" Sakura titled her head in confusion before realizing what the blonde meant. "Oh... you heard I take it"

"Who hasn't?" She exclaimed incredulously. "Kushina Uzumaki, suddenly back in the village... and it turns out she's Naruto's mother!"

"I know" The pinkette nodded, "Crazy right?" She kept her choice of words limited, as she knew it was very classified information nobody could know. Not even her friends.

"I mean, where has she been all this time?" Ino questioned. "Poor Naruto, I can't imagine how he must have felt, not having heard anything from her for so long..."

Irritation swelled up inside Sakura, but did not let it show, it wasn't Ino's fault after all. Things were much complicated than she knew. "He's happy now, I think that's all that matters, don't you think?"

Ino's shoulders dropped. "Yeah, I guess..."

* * *

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

* * *

Yugito could only sigh with resignation now that the information of Naruto's parentage was sent to back home to Kumo. She could only imagine what will go through the minds of many from their village learning Minato Namikaze had a son.

The Nibi Jinchurriki sat at the window of her team's hotel room with Karui and Omoi sharpening their swords, and Samui going over some scrolls. The Chunin in the room idly glanced between her reading and over to her comrade and friend. "You know we had to tell the Raikage."

"I know; I accepted that," a pair of feline blues turn to the busty young blond; "Guess we can be grateful Raikage-sama saw the Yondaime Hokage as a worthy rival than mortal enemy like Iwa. I mean, Naruto is one of the more sane Jinchurriki I ever met."

She had a heard a few stories of least one of the Iwa Jinchurriki being blood-lust fueled maniac. And Gaara was not far off if the aura around was any more telling.

"You forgot Bee-Sensei," Karui mentioned before everyone sweatdrops remembering their sensei's 'unique' behavior. Perhaps 'sane' was stretching it a bit for him.

Yugito shook her head; "It's more than that. I could see myself being real friends with him. Naruto is a really good guy."

"Well, tough luck" Samui said. "He's Konoha, so it means you will most likely have to kill him one day if the next war comes around our lifetimes, which is likely" She did not speak with callousness, but rather a type of certainty brought by common sense, like saying 'tomorrow's going to rain'.

The genin all gave her an incredulous look. "Wwwwoah!" Omoi exclaimed. "And here I thought I was the downer..."

Samui sighed as she closed one of the scrolls. "Are you honestly so naive as to believe you could actually become friends with him?"

"Well yes" Yugito defended. "I know-"

"Even when it was us who slaughtered his clan?"

"...That was a long time ago" The jinchuuriki muttered. "The people who did it-"

"We are that people" The chunin finished as she stared at her the braided girl in the eye. "We can ignore responsibility all we like, but it was Kumogakure's decision to invade Uzushio, along with Iwa. You can pretend it doesn't matter because you didn't give that order, but you still represent Kumo, you must stand for the actions of our village. That Kumo destroyed their home because it was the best course of action for our village. So if one day you are ordered to kill him, Yugito" Her tone gained a soft edge. "You are expected to do as you are commanded"

The two young swordsman and woman shared an uneasy look. While Yugito had trouble meeting Samui's cold stare.

"I'm telling you this for your own good" The busty woman sighed. "So you better not go blabbering about being an enemy Jinchuuriki's 'friend' nowhere near any of our superiors. Much less Raikage-sama"

Yugito remained silent.

"This goes for all three of you" She continued. "You can't be friends with anyone here; things just don't work like that, much less with the boy who has all the reason in the world to hate us"

"He doesn't though..." Karui found herself muttering.

"...Maybe not" Samui responded back. "But his mother does"

THAT was another important piece of information they had sent to the Raikage, something Konoha was all too proud to let the world know.

The Red Death was back.

"Unlike her son, the Red Death lived on Uzushio, likely all her family was there. Can you tell me she doesn't harbor enough hate for us due to our village's actions?"

The rest knew Samui wasn't trying to sound like a bitch or cynic. The young blond simply had always been a realist through and through. And she did care about her team despite her cold demeanor, so she was telling them what was best for them in her mind.

Kushina Uzumaki slaughtered many Kumo and Iwa nin in the war, hunted them down with righteous vengeance, carrying the rage of a fallen clan with her.

She used to have another nickname before 'Red Habanero', a silly thing said jovially among her comrades to describe her personality.

Until they saw her on the battlefield, how she had been drenched in the blood of her enemies from head to toe. Kumo and Iwa blood dripping from her blade, eager for more.

She had the Red Death. The Vengeance of the Uzumaki Clan.

Yugito would admit one reason she had yet to talk to Naruto again was because she knew his mother would be nearby. And the thought terrified her.

Maybe listening to Samui wouldn't be a bad idea...

 **"Samui has great tits but that girl sees the world with that Kumo mentality too much."** Matatabi grumbled as she shook her head. Yugito faintly blushed before shaking it off.

"Understood Samui. But if he wants to talks to us?"

"Just don't get attached. And pray his mother is tolerant on his decisions"

* * *

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

* * *

"Hmph" The Swordsman of the Mist grunted as he quirked an eyebrow at the Hokage's proposition, "An invitation?"

"Indeed" The old Kage nodded from behind his desk. "Rasa-dono will be attending the finals, so I thought it'd be polite to extend the same courtesy to Terumi-dono"

"And would this courtesy be extended to the other two Kage?" Zabuza made an effort to keep his tone polite; there were many protocols to follow when talking to a foreign Kage after all.

"Oh it has. A-dono has expressed he is unable to come due to matters he has to attend to" Yeeeah, somehow Zabuza doubted that. "As for Ōnoki" The Sarutobi softly laughed, and Zabuza noted he used more familiarity when talking about the Tsuchikage. "I actually have his reply here, hang on"

The Swordsman gave a deadpanning look as the Kage pulled out a letter from his drawer, and began reading it with a humored smile on his face. "He wrote; _'To the smug hippies: Shove your invitation up your ass, you tree humpers. Sincerely, Ōnoki of the Scales'_ " He let out a hearty laugh. "Oh that man is still as hard-headed as always"

Well, let it not be said the Tsuchikage childishly carried his grudges.

At that Zabuza just rubbed his eyes; "And people call me vindictive." He gave the Sandaime a long look; "I'll send your message along to the Mizukage, but can't guarantee anything with how busy everything is back home."

"I completely understand. I am only thankful your village can finally heal."

A grunt from the swordsman as he took the Sandaime's letter. "If I may ask" He gave in to his curiosity. "What do you hope to gain from speaking with our Mizukage?"

"Why" Hiruzen shrugged. "I want to establish closer ties between our villages. Perhaps she'll agree with a few trading deals that would benefit your village, you still have much to rebuild as I understand"

Zabuza stared at the wizened Kage with suspicion. "For what purpose?" What could he gain from that?

The Hokage merely raised a brow. "So our villages can coexist in peace"

"Is that it?" The notion was... too simplistic for Zabuza to believe it. Things did not work like that when you were a ninja, much less the leader of an entire village. The game was to take any advantage you could over your opponents, until eventually they stopped being a factor that would get in the way of your village's prosperity.

So to hear this man, who had been in the game long before Zabuza was even born, wasn't looking to screw over their village in any way, raised a few alarms in his (properly) paranoid mind.

"It can't be that easy"

"It is"

"You want nothing out of this?"

"Only for this new generation not to know war" The Hokage explained himself plainly. "Is it that hard to believe?"

"In the ninja world? Yes"

The Sarutobi nodded to himself, clicking his tongue before looking at the Swordsman of the Mist in the eye. "Well I think it's time we remedy that"

* * *

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

* * *

Sweat dripped from Naruto's brow as the morning sun rose over Konoha. His muscles burned as his body felt thousand pounds heavier via a weight seal placed on his forearm, as he was performing a simple pushup. "I haven't even gotten to these yet," The blond growled, pushing his body up with all his might.

Kushina who is dressed in a ANBU pants and a shirt chuckled beside a snorting Jiraiya; "Trust me gaki, there is a reason you haven't. Weight seals are designed for Chunin and Jounin, Genin must have one or the other present if they are using them for training. Fortunately for you bunch you have this awesome Toad Sage and Uzumaki madwoman helping ya."

"I know a bit too," Kakashi chirped up beside them while reading.

Beside Naruto, his team along with Karin felt like their bodies were carrying a mountain as they were going through basic exercises.

"When I sought asylum on Konoha..." The glasses wearing girl grunted with effort as she struggled to push herself up from the ground in repetition. "This isn't what I had in mind!"

"Well, it's best if you spend all your time with us Specs" Another thing she had not planned for was a sannin calling her by an annoying nickname, "Who knows if my crazy ass former teammate is keeping an eye on you?"

"That and _we_ are keeping an eye on you" Kakashi supplied, flipping the page on his book. "You know, you're in probation and all"

"It's safer this way, sweetie" Kushina added. "And hey, that means you get to bond with us all the more!"

"I doubt this is anybody's idea of bonding!" Karin replied fiercely, her arms trembling.

"Oh boy, remind me to introduce you to the village's Green Beasts~"

While Sasuke was not complaining in having intense training, his body was not in agreement; "So where are we going by using these weight seal?" Gods he felt like every bone was creaking as he moved.

"For the training we have in mind for you guys we need to get your bodies up to par. The people you're going up against are far more dangerous than any of you." Kushina stated bluntly; "Neji is one the best I've seen among the Hyuuga since his father and uncle. Lee has been personally taught by Gai before being assigned a team and Gaara is a Jinchurriki..."

Sakura grunted beside her team and Karin; "So in other words we have to be better?"

A false laugh came from the adults before each one deadpans; "Nope" the teens face faulted; "A month is not nearly enough to get you lot to be at those three levels. So we have to make you be crafty." Kakashi clarifies as the kids resume their exercises.

"Plus Naruto does not fully know how to train with the Kyuubi's chakra. Kushina never really used it save for the healing factor that was automatic," Jiraiya shrugged.

Karin struggled herself up before speaking; "I have to say Konoha is strange you never even bothered training your Jinchurriki beforehand. Every other village does."

"We only ever had three in our history" Jiraiya said, looking at Naruto and Kushina. "Mito-sama sure didn't pass down any training methods in case things got dire, always said that the Shodai deeply regretted ever having used the Bijuu like he did"

 **"Oh he's sorry!"** Kurama sarcastically, and angrily VERY angrily, roared out inside Naruto's mind. **"Yes, that's make all the difference!"**

"So we always relied more on our sealing prowess to deal with enemy Jinchuuriki" The Uzumaki matriarch continued, turning to face Sasuke. "Gaara is... extremely unstable, he will kill you without hesitation. So during the month I'll be designing a seal scroll you can use against him in a fight, if I do a proper work it'll restrain his Biju's chakra"

The Uchiha's eyes narrowed. "I don't want assistance like that for me" It was an insult to his pride.

"Weeeell, look how much I care about fighting 'fair'" Kushina rolled her eyes. "You're a ninja, grow the hell up. I'm not letting that boy kill you"

Uchiha grunted, but did not further argue. He'd discuss it with her on another time, perhaps after figuring a better argument. Fittingly, Naruto's mother was even more stubborn than the blonde.

"As for Lee, he is a pure Taijutsu fighter like his mentor. As eccentric as Gai is, he IS the greatest Taijutsu master in the village." Kakashi stated in a matter of fact tone; "Lee's speed and strength is leagues above yours Naruto. I know you already get that hanging around Tenten, but if you want any kind of ace against him, you need to fight him on your terms not his."

The blond had guessed that well enough seeing Lee train a few times before the exams. Now Naruto loved training, he believed in hard work. Lee though was outright obsessed with it. Cupped with the older teen did not believe in breaks, so this meant Naruto REALLY had to step up his imagination to take down the spandex wearing maniac.

Sakura frowned; "I can't beat Neji can I?"

"Not in a straight up fight no," Jiraiya shook his head; "Nor at the level you're at right now. That strength of yours in an edge, but means zip when your opponent can move faster than you. Never mind his dōjutsu."

The pinkette lifted her arms and let them drop lifelessly at her sides. "And genjutsu against someone with such precise chakra control wouldn't work on the long run" She sighed as she weighted her options. "So a straight up fight is out, distracting him with illusions is out..." Sakura tapped her lips with a finger as thought on what else she had at her disposal. "Then... perhaps a strategy involving different ninja tools" Explosives, poison perhaps, she doubted Neji had much defense against those.

A smile soon formed on her lips; "I think I something"

"Oh!" Kushina looked up excitedly. "Is it going to the arena the day prior and setting up bombs on the whole place?"

That got a row of deadpanning looks. "That would be hard to pull of" Jiraiya droned. "For a number of reasons, namely the ANBU doing a sweep and removing them..."

"Fine" Kushina sighed. "Let's hear your idea hone-ACK!"

It all happened very fast, a blur suddenly slammed into the Uzumaki and sent them spiraling over the ground before the newcomer threw her against a tree.

"Your senses are fucking dull!" A particularly savage looking woman, who had just assaulted Kushina out of the blue, roared in disappointment.

The kids along with Jiraiya and Kakashi blinked before the Gama Sannin deadpans; "Should have seen this coming."

Tsume, wearing in her Shinobi gear crossed her arms under her bust; "Thought you were supposed to be training."

A low growl came from the Uzu matriarch who shook off the mental cobwebs; "I'm not slacking off, I'm training the kids first, mutt!" Kushina seethed before marching right up Tsume; "Oh I plan on getting back into shape just so I can kick your ass all over this village."

"Well I don't see you sweating off those love handles yet."

A vein throbbed in Kushina's forehead. "I don't have love handles!"

"Then what are these?!" The dog mistress pulled at the side of Kushina's stomach, stretching the skin and flesh.

The others swore Kushina's teeth would shatter from how hard she was clenching them. "I. WAS. PREGNANT" She growled in rage. "FOR. TEN. MONTHS!"

"And you barely began doing any exercise since you came back! You lost muscle, now it's all extra fat!"

Kushina clashed her forehead against the Inuzuka, glaring intently. "I'll give you your extra fat!"

"What does that even mean?!" Tsume shouted back. "Work on your insults, you toothless bitch!"

"It's so nice to see those two still get along" Jiraiya smiled fondly.

At that the kids looked at the Gama sannin like he grew a second head while Kakashi just sighed; "It's like they never missed a day of pissing each other off and fighting." As if on cue, with his last words thus began the hair pulling and clothes tearing.

The sannin beside him just cringed at the sight; "Considering I see Kushina like my own daughter this is awkward."

Sakura and Karin only blushed while Naruto covered his eyes and Sasuke closed his eyes as the shirts started to be ripped off. "This is going to be a long month," the blond muttered.

* * *

XxX ~ one week later ~ XxX

* * *

His pace through the forest was almost at breakneck speed but he dodged every tree and boulder as the joy radiated off his body. He thought it was impossible! That what he heard was some wild tale or bad joke. But it was true, the news from Konohagakure was echoing like a whirlwind throughout the nation!

"She's alive!" the joy exploded from his mouth. "SHE'S ALIVE!"

His dark red hair was done in a spiky ponytail, with two large bangs falling down the sides of his head and unto his chest. He wore a dark tattered jacket tucked into a large belt above grey hakama pants. The man's looks just screamed 'roguish', that of a man who more often than not was prone to mischief.

He arrived at a house hidden between the dense foliage, a simple traditional home that could house quite a few people. This was place that had served to hide them for a long time; it had been their home for many years. By the front door knelt a man who wore a full kimono, his face was stern, hardened with time. His red hair was pulled back all the way, save for a few strands that peeked over his forehead. A katana rested in front of him, he was clearly in meditation.

"She's alive!"

The key word being 'was', as now his focus was disturbed. The swordsman bit back a sigh and asked; "'Who' is alive, Samenosuke?"

The long haired man beamed a blinding smile, squatting next to the other man. "You won't believe this, Saito. I was in town when I heard the news" He let out an excited breath as he ran a hand over his face. "Oh gods, I couldn't believe it at first myself! I-I just didn't dare hope-!"

"Samenosuke" Saito said sternly. "Just get on with it"

"...Kushina's alive"

A pin could have dropped and disrupt the silence brought by those two words. Saito was frozen; his amber wolf-like eyes had widened to pure shock. "That's a lie," his voice barely above a whisper.

"I thought so to," Samenosuke admitted. "Thought it was some ploy by Konoha, so did some digging with a contact of mine in the village." Tears threaten to leak from his eyes; "She's alive Saito, and had a son... Naruto Uzumaki."

"Who's alive?" Rounding from beside house was a twelve year old boy with scruffy red hair tied in a low ponytail wearing a kimono like Saito looked at the older men with curious amber eyes. His question was met with a hug by Samenosuke. The young man just blinks blankly; "You're happy, uncle."

The roguish looking man sets the boy down; "Remember those stories we told you about Kushina Uzumaki Soujiro?" The boy nods; "Well they're no longer pasted tense! She's alive!"

"Ah, so you're drunk then"

As Samenosuke sputtered and began trying to convince the boy he was not, Saito was lost in his own world.

He remembered the happier days of his childhood, the prosperous time of Uzushio. He remembered the faces of elders and young, a family, his father, his uncle, his cousins, among them Kushina.

He remembered when their own little group followed Tsukiko-sama around, the ancient woman always greeting them with a small yet kind smile, imparting words of wisdom they were too young to understand back then.

Saito remembered their home.

And he remembered their home burning.

The orange haze in the distance as the ships raced towards the mainland, their brave warriors staying behind to buy them time.

Then came the snakes, so many of them, and began tearing through as many ships as they could. He remembered the screams, the roars of their warriors who defended them, the flames of the dragons who defended them against their ancient foe.

They woke up in the shore, just a few of them, most of them children. The rest of the ships either sank or were spread all over the coast throughout the chaos. The clan splintering, hiding, trying to survive.

There was no refuge for them, the snakes hunted them down every chance they had. Ninjas poured from all over seeking to kidnap at least one of them for their secrets. Konoha had lost all traces of them as they tried looking for the survivors. They were too scared to come out of hiding, in fear that they would be found once again. So for years they stayed hidden.

His son Soujiro's birth, the death of his mother, had all but cemented Saito's belief that the best course of action was to keep their heads down, even if it meant Kushina would not know they were alive. At least she was safe in Konoha.

Saito would be lying if he said he hadn't entertained the thought of venturing to Konoha… but then news of Kushina's death reached his ears, and the village no longer looked like a safe haven. Not to the Uzumaki, who were hunted down by so many enemies.

But now… Kushina was alive? The hope he felt in his chest was too painful to ignore.

The thoughts of reuniting his family once more ignited with that terrifying hope.

"Saito" Samenosuke's voice called to him, far too serious to come from the playful man. "We've been hiding for so long; we had a chance once, to actually reunite with her. We thought we lost it… but now we have another chance" He stood before him, gaze determined. "I'm not going to waste it"

Neither was he.

"We need to inform the others" Saito's words made a smile nearly split Samenosuke's face. "Lyn, Eiji, everyone we have with us" The number was not big, but Kushina would not care, she would happy even if it was just one.

"Oh this is gonna be _grand_ "

Soujiro looked in between his father and uncle, bangs swaying as he did so. "Shall I pack my things?"

* * *

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

* * *

What does it mean to inherit a will?

Not in the sense of physical inheritance, of a relative who had passed away and left possessions to a next of kin.

But a will in the sense of a conviction, a belief, a drive, a set of ideals and morals.

Can something so personal be passed down? Children often would inherit such things from their parents.

But what if there was a will that jumped throughout generations, regardless of bloodline and nurture?

Konoha nurtured such inheritance of will, a Will of Fire they called it. Something passed down to their shinobi.

Kuroreimei came to the village not because of a Will of Fire, but because she looked for a far more ancient will.

She looked for a will that was passed down by the gods.

Once, there had been a king. He ruled his people justly and led them to great prosperity. It was a great age, a golden age.

But to humans it was anything but. And so fuel her kind's prosperity, theirs was pushed down.

The heavens heard their plea for salvation, and delivered forth unto them a savior.

The hero brought down their king, but spared them in his compassion, offering them peace.

They took it.

But ages passed, and old oaths were forgotten as tragedy befell upon the whole world.

Now the world was changing once again, and those that inherit Rama's Will often find themselves in the center of the storm.

Even thousands upon thousands of years later, the will lived on. And though calamity had taken away the world's old glory, her kind endured, strong and unyielding.

So it was her duty to find if these new inheritors spelled disaster for her people… or renewal.

For that reason, the pale skinned woman stood by the great gates of the Hidden Leaf Village; her hime cut ebony dark hair swaying with the wind as crimson eyes stared forth resolute.

She would find her answers, and do what she had to do for. It was her duty as queen.

For her people.

For Lanka.

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

Lets fun begin! C-ya next time!


	25. Family life and lessons

**Disclaimer:** We do not own Naruto

 **Co-Author and Beta** : Etheral-23

 **Chapter 25: Family life and lessons**

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Now Naruto would be the first to admit his handwriting really, REALLY sucked. After discovering he had Shoton and had begun learning Fūinjutsu from Ero-Sennin it had improved quite a lot. Granted understanding and learning calligraphy was a total pain. He could not count how much his wrist hurt after practicing for hours and hours just to learn a simply sealing scroll!

Before the Chunin exams he really thought he'd progressed rather well all things considered. He was damn proud how he could make a dozen seal scrolls, silence seals, and that signal seal.

"Sloppy." Kushina drawled in an unimpressed tone.

Boy did he get a huge reality check now that he had his mother take over his Fūinjutsu studies. Said mother and son were sitting in the training room of their home as the morning sun had yet to rise. Both wore a simple shirt and pants as they sat cross-legged.

Jiraiya was damn tough on the blond when starting Fūinjutsu, even given him calligraphy for dummies book to help. However it was nothing compared to the perfectionist his mother was when it came to seals. As she explained to him Fūinjutsu was the craft of their clan. They are artists when it came to seals, and they were deeply proud of their works.

"I thought I was doing well..." He said dejectedly.

"For an Uzumaki, this quality is not _'well'_ " His mother said sternly. "This is basic stuff; even novices of the craft learn how to make sealing scrolls. How many items can your scrolls hold?"

"Um..." He hadn't really kept an accurate count. "Around... twenty I think?"

"And that right there should tell you all you have to know about the quality of your seals. Twenty is not a high number when it comes to storage seals, it's just passable at best" The redhead said, sounding strangely logical and teacher-like. "The quality of a seal determines how much mass it can stored, spread evenly among the items per number and size, then you have to take into account if the item in question has chakra. Have you ever wondered why ninjas don't just seal their enemies away?"

"Not... really?"

"Because the added chakra levels plus the mass of the person make it impossible for them to be stored away unwillingly inside a scroll that is of average quality only. To seal a single living, conscious and struggling person, you'd need a scroll that has the capacity to store hundreds of thousands of items. But trapping the enemy into something like that is more trouble than it's worth, that's why paralysis and other related types of seals exist. That's why we reserve such use for corpses only, the loss of life force and consciousness makes it much simpler"

"Huh" He hadn't gotten to that in his reading yet. That was good to know.

"So, a storage that can hold twenty items is not of proper quality to be used in the field. At most you'd only add like twenty shuriken or kunai. Or a fewer bigger items" Kushina crossed her arms, still looking unimpressed. "Ergo, this is sloppy work for an Uzumaki"

The blond could only slump his head in defeat while Kushina ran her hand through her son's blond locks; "Don't fret sochi. With me as your teacher, your Fūinjutsu will make Ero-Sennin cry in shame," she just LOVED that nickname her boy came up for Jiraiya. It was so perfect she could not stop laughing when she found out.

Tapping the tip of his brush in the ink he started the seal exercise again; "Who taught you Fūinjutsu?"

"Tsukiko-Baachan," Kushina smiled at the memories while mentally wincing on how many times she had to correct her hand technique. "The lessons are tough but make you one bad ass Uzumaki seal master!"

"Not the first time you mention her" He said, stretching back as he popped the knots in his arms. He could use a break. "She was the one who made the scroll that saved your life right?"

"She was" His mother said all too fondly. "Oh you should have met her; Tsukiko-baachan was just the coolest!" The grin in her face was very bright. "Everyone in the village knew her, and everyone knew for a fact she was the best damn Uzumaki we ever had. Unrivaled master of seals and eternal asskicker"

"She was badass huh?"

"Oh badass doesn't even cover it!" She sounded like a child gushing about how cool her parent was. "She's everything I wanted to be when I was a kid" Her smile grew soft, though it did little to change the happiness that radiated from it. "She pretty much raised me and a bunch of other kids"

He tilted his head; "She did?"

"Yeah. My mom died when I was little, and dad was always busy with the clan and the village." Kushina leaned back, resting on her palms. "I don't really remember a lot from my mother, except that she loved the sea and always took me to the beach"

The image of his mother as a toddler, making happy memories with his grandmother brought a smile to Naruto's face.

"Tsukiko-baachan was always there for us, she had always been" She said with a touch of old melancholy. A soft laugh escaped her lips; "I mean; she pretty much raised the two generations prior to my parents"

Wait... what?

"Uh, how old was she?"

"Oh around two hundred and fifty."

The blond's jaw dropped.

"Of course you couldn't tell because she physically looked only thirty years old."

"T-that the famous Uzumaki longevity I keep hearing about?" Naruto's mind reeling at the thought of someone actually living for that long.

"Partly, Baachan was a senjutsu master, or what most people call them a Sage, something about her mastery and how much it affected her aging process. How you earn that title is learning by senjutsu." Kushina winked with a wistful sigh.

"So that's why Ero-Sennin has his title? He's a Senjutsu master?"

At that the redhead laughed; "Nope! He's tier 1, especially since he needs Ma and Pa to help him." Confusion etched on her son's face; "I'll explain Senjutsu later. Ma and Pa are the elders of the Toads."

Making an 'O' expression the blond massaged his wrists. He really did not know much of anything about his clan. Never mind his father's which he was told was a nomadic bunch.

"Saito, Samenosuke, Kosuke, Maya, Lyn, Kirika" His mother listed the names of cousins and other most distant kin. "I always hanged out with them when I was a kid. Oh how we would hound Tsukiko-baachan" She chuckled. "But that old lady was never bothered, never so much as grumbled" Her gaze became a bit lost. "You know, thinking back on it, sometimes she had this look like... she had done so much, that she had fought for so long and seen so much, but baachan didn't let the memories consume her" Her lips pressed into a thing line. "I never asked her about what kind of fights she was in, guess I was too young to understand"

Naruto listened in silently.

"She was always so wise; I only understood half the stuff she tried to teach me as I was growing up... Then, right before I was sent to Konoha, she left and... Didn't come back"

She fell silent for a moment.

"No one ever saw her again"

"...What happened?"

Kushina let out a long sigh; "Wish I could tell you, kiddo. But I know full well what happened after she left, the Second Ninja War was on the horizon, Iwa and Kumo thought we were too much of a threat, they couldn't allow Konoha to keep an ally like our country"

The bitterness in her voice, the intense anger laced in her words. He knew his mother hated those villages. It was plainly seen in her eyes like Neji with Kumo. Wanting to get lighten the mood, Naruto cleared his throat; "Think you can teach me the sword some time?"

Almost instantly Kushina perked up as she smiled at her son; "You want to learn Kenjutsu?"

"Next to Fūinjutsu it's an Uzumaki practice right? Figured I should learn that too." Naruto grinning seeing the beaming smiling coming off her.

"Okay, I can mix in some Kenjutsu while doing regular training. We can do it fully after the exams. Also need to get a sword too."

"I could just make one with Shoton."

"True, but a real sword master always has a blade on their hip." Kushina said seriously, remembering something her father always said.

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Karin bit the edge of her lip as she accommodated the last book on the shelf. There, perfect. She stood back and looked at it satisfied. Now all her belongings where arranged just like she wanted.

All three of them.

The sheer space left in the rest of the shelves really painted a painful contrast...

The bespectacled girl sighed softly, she honestly had never been bothered by her lack of belongings, but that was before she actually had a place to call her own. Though originally a simple guest room, Kushina had been adamant that this room now belonged to her.

It was a bit strange for her. More often than not the ground had been her bed, and even when staying inside Orochimaru's bases her chambers were these small squared things lacking any kinds of wisdom. Just a dreary atmosphere of darkness and isolation.

Naruto and his mother really wanted her to feel welcome; they wanted this to be her home... It had so long since she had a home.

She knew her mother would be happy and relieved that her daughter was now with her real family again. Even though both were utterly insane and the biggest smart asses she ever met, they had been so kind and loving to her.

Though it felt almost alien to her having prepared warm meals every day and even lunches during training. She had gotten a rather odd look from Auntie Kushina (what she wanted Karin to call her) when she asked why she was making lunches.

 _'I guess adjusting to family life again will take a while for me.'_ She had been helping Naruto get used to it since he never had any family till a few weeks ago. If she was having a time to re-adjust, he was outright lost in adjusting at all.

Still, Karin would not let her cousin down as both had been growing into real family since.

Though there was still that gnawing sensation in the back of her mind, that fear that Orochimaru was watching.

Karin wondered if it had been a mistake, acting how she did, just going along with the village giving custody of her to Kushina until her probation was up. Acting so openly like this, there was no doubt in her mind that the Snake Sannin knew she had betrayed him.

Even now she could feel his gaze on her, almost like his pets were just waiting for the chance to pounce and sink their fangs into her throat. Orochimaru suffered no traitors. Karin was sure the only reason she was still alive was because there were ANBU keeping a close eye on her.

Karin took comfort in the knowledge that in the large scheme of things her betrayal was not a huge loss for Orochimaru nor did it change his plans in any significant way. She did not have any important information regarding his plans for the Leaf, and his mere appearance was enough to send the village into high alert, more so now with the Exams going.

What she did know, however, was the location of a couple of bases. Granted they were relatively low in terms of importance for Orochimaru's operations, but she was still a loose end he would have to take care of eventually.

She trembled at where her thoughts took her, Karin let out a shuddering breath and walked to the kitchen. She needed some water.

She was met by the sight of Kushina in an apron, preparing lunch. "Heeey Karin-chan!" She gave her a beaming smile. "Don't eat anything, lunch will be done soon~"

The smell of ramen hit her nostrils and she smiled, her aunt's caring smile made all her fears disappear in an instant.

Perhaps she could get used to this 'having a home' business.

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The afternoon sun shined over Konoha as Naruto traversed through the trees in civilian clothes around the training areas. Seal training had taken most of the morning and his mother said he should relax a bit before they start their normal session. Idly he could not stop smiling even while his mother was a much tougher sensei than Ero-Sennin; it just felt amazing being taught by a family.

Family, something he thought he'd never really ever have. Having his mom back as well as his Cousin Karin being with them, it was a feeling he could not describe!

His mental musings were broken as he stopped on a large branch upon hearing… music? Curiosity claimed him as he followed the tune to an open field as he saw Yugito sitting on a stump playing, what was it that Sakura called them? Oh yeah a shamisen. Not far were her teammates Karui, Omoi, and Samui moving in the rhythm of his fellow Jinchuuriki's music.

It was a beautiful.

The Nibi Jinchuuriki's eyes were closed, letting her fingers move over the strings with ease, never missing a single note.

In the field, Omoi and Karui struck at Samui, the older Kumo-nin barely reacted to their combined maneuver as she held them back with her own blade and pushed them away, sending them skidding across the ground, tearing blades of grass on their feet's path.

Yugito's tempo began to decrease, almost in perfect sync with the mood and energy of her peers as they measured each other up, slowly taking a stance.

Her fingers seemed to stop for a moment before once more striking the notes with renewed intensity.

The young genin dashed forward, surrounding the chunin in a blur of movement. Samui parred away a downward strike from Karui before spinning around and delivering a sweeping slash to counter Omoi's strike from the other side. A straight kick against his chest pushed the genin back, sending him stumbling against the ground, Samui swiftly turned to face the redhead and struck with the back of her hand against Karui's cheek. Sending the girl to the ground with a cry of pain.

The shamizen's tempo slowed once more.

They were perfectly in sync with Yugito's music; it was like water, almost effortless yet powerful. Was this Kumogakure style training or they're own version of it? It was damn awesome either way. He soon noticed Yugito had stopped before realizing Karui and Omoi were standing on either side of him with Samui looking up at her fellow blond.

"You really need work on your stealth," Karui smirked with her head cocked to the side.

A weak chuckle came from the blond Uzumaki as he kept his gazed on the buxom Chunin with the impassive eyes; "Am I in trouble?"

"Depends on why you're here." Samui said in her normal cold tone.

A lollipop rolled in Omoi's mouth; "Espionage, uncovering Kumo training secrets, assassinate us-" Yugito appeared beside the sole male of their team, smacking him on the head.

Naruto only sweatdropped as he squinted; "I can guarantee I am not here for any of that. Last one especially. I'm just roaming around till my training starts later. Heard the music and came to see, you guys are awesome by the way!"

Samui gave the young blond a look; "We sent a message to our Kage about you, and your mother."

 _'SERIOUSLY!?_ ' Karui, Yugito, and Omoi mentally yelled at the zero tact from their friend/substitute sensei.

"..I kind of figured that." Naruto stated solemnly before grinning; "But no harm in trying to be friends right?"

Uh, yeah. LOTS of harm in trying to be friends with a foreign shinobi, particularly one with his circumstances. That's what most of the Kumo Nin wanted to say but held their tongues. Was Naruto just oblivious to the consequences? He had shown he had a good head on his shoulders; they had fought alongside him so they knew he wasn't dumb. Though to be fair they didn't know him all that well, perhaps he was just selectively ignoring the facts.

Or perhaps he just didn't care, that was always a possibility.

"So uh, Yugito" The whiskered blonde said in an awkward tone. "Actually wanted to talk to you about something" He scratched the back of his neck. "It's about Gaara, you know how he, um..." He hesitantly looked at her comrades.

"They know Naruto" She revealed. "Soon after I found out I told them" Had to do it really.

"Yeah" Karui droned. "I know ninjas hold the ideal of being able to act without emotion for our duty, but there is a line in which you become a straight up psychopath"

"And that Gaara guy? Ohh boy" Omoi let out a long breath. "That guy crossed it a long time ago. Can't see why Suna keeps someone as unstable as him as Jinchuuriki."

 **"They do that on purpose,"** Matatabi spoke up in both Naruto's and Yugito's head **. "I learned this from one of my old hosts. Suna places a weak seal on their Jinchurriki to Shukaku can purposely manifest on command against enemies."**

"WHAT!" Karui and Omoi jumped while Samui lifted a brow at the sudden outburst from Naruto and Yugito. "What about the damn host!?" Naruto commented before he took notice of the odd looks from Samui, Omoi, and Karui; "Uh sorry, Matatabi-chan is talking to us."

The feline Bijuu smiled at that before getting serious again; **"Why don't you all get back down to the ground so you can listen."**

Following her advice as Yugito explained the group sat down on the ground as Naruto and Yugito told what Matatabi knew about Shukaku and Suna's Jinchurriki. Saying it was a bit disturbing was an understatement. The Nibi and Kyuubi Jinchurriki both seethed; "What the fuck does Suna see us as?" The young Uzumaki growled out.

"Are you honestly surprised?" Samui bored tone cut in. "You're a Jinchuuriki, you should know what it's expected of you. If you can't properly harness your bijuu for the sake of your village then they have to resort to desperate measures"

Yugito winced as Naruto angrily bore his eyes into Samui's. "I'm not a tool" He growled softly, though the intensity of his tone was still very noticeable.

"Then you're a poor ninja" She simply stated. "We're all tools of our village"

"I don't believe that" He heartfelt replied. "We do things differently in Konoha"

And he believed it, for all the 'shinobi are emotionless tools' crap he heard over and over, he had yet to meet a ninja that truly embodied that concept. He had met hearty comrades of the Leaf, he had seen fierce opponents who lost themselves to anger and bloodlust, releasing in the thought of killing their enemies. Each and every ninja he had met showed emotions all the time. This 'ideal' of what a shinobi truly should be was nothing but bullshit in his eyes. It was simply impossible.

"...Believe what you want" The chūnin said, a hint of tiredness showing in her voice. "I don't care"

 _'Looks super-hot but that attitude...'_ The blond just huffed in exasperation as he shook his head.

 **"To be fair she is a good person, she just sees things one way,"** Matatabi digressed with a sigh.

Yugito shook her head at her teammate/friend's behavior; "At any rate least we know more what we're dealing with Gaara."

"I can tell Sasuke later," Naruto muttered as he looked at the bunch; "So you guys still going to train more?"

Karui glanced to Samui who sighed; "We could take a break before resuming."

At that Naruto beamed; "Then you guys hungry!? I know best place to chow down!" He was greeted with bewildered looks save the busty Chunin who lifted a brow; "What?"

"Konoha and Kumo aren't fans of each other. Given half the crap our village has done. I can list half the murderous glares sent our way just walking around here," Karui expressed slowly. "...Not to mention you and your mom's clan."

Letting out an explosive sigh the blond Uzumaki shook his head; "I'll say it again like I told Neji, 'you' guys didn't attack Uzushio. Hell none of us were even born yet. So how is hating you over something 'you' never did going to help me any?" He looked at all them seriously; "Before I even knew why people treated me like they did I hated this village for so long. And you know what, I got sick of hating. So no, I do not hate 'you' guys for something that happened years ago!"

They remained silent as they looked at him.

"So, I'll ask again; you guys hungry? I can take you to a great place"

...Yeah this kid clearly didn't understand how the world works. But that was not her problem; Samui wasn't going to say no to a free meal. "Cool" She shrugged. Her team soon agreed with her on the account that their stomachs were roaring angrily at them.

Unbeknownst to the young teens a figure stood in the shadows observing and listening to the conversations between Naruto and the Kumo team. Her violet eyes remained impassive as she rolled a kunai in her the palm of her hand.

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The shinobi of Kumo could honestly say that Konoha was not what they were expecting. As Naruto guided them towards what was, in his words, 'the bestest ramen place in the world' (with Yugito unsuccessfully trying to convince him that 'bestest' was not a word), they let their sights wander around the village streets.

Oh they knew there were a few share of Konoha Nin keeping their eyes on them, suspecting they were trying to spy for structural weaknesses and key points on the infrastructure, Kumo did have a background of playing Konoha, but the team did not care.

No, what caught their attention was how some stores were actually owned by NINJAS of all things. As in, shinobi who had another job in their civilian lives... That phrase along was wrong on so many levels for the group of Kumo. Back in their village, ninjas didn't have a 'civilian life', you either were a ninja or you were a civilian, there was no middle ground. The military did not occupy themselves with the rest of the village activities regarding commerce and such that was the civilians' job.

Your duty hours were in service of the village, and you're off duty hours were so you could relax and train to better be of service to the village. That's it.

They could understand a clan having means of acquiring money; it wasn't strange to see that the Akimichi clan possessed a large chain of restaurants in one of the districts. But then they heard that the Yamanaka, the clan who knew how to invade the mind, which some members could develop freaking telepathy had a flower shop... What?

That made no sense to the Kumo group. Konoha really were a bunch of hippies...

Perhaps further proof of such stereotype was when they saw a ninja of Konoha, a chunin or perhaps a jounin due to his vest, approaching a kimono wearing man sweeping the entrance of his shop. The two men smiled heartily at each other, and before the surprised eyes of the Kumo Nin, tenderly embraced locked lips in a gentle kiss.

Nobody paid them any mind. No passersby stopped to stare at them, no reactions just... nothing. Like this was something completely ordinary.

You didn't see that in Kumo.

"Um, is that-" Karui nodded towards the couple, not wanting to make it obvious and point. "-normal?"

Naruto turned to see what she was talking about, he squinted as he looked around. "What?"

"Them" Omoi whispered. "The... couple"

The whiskered blonde's eyes widened in understand. "Ohh that. What about it? They're just kissing"

"They're two guys" Yugito felt the need of pointing out.

Naruto didn't look like she understands what she was talking about. "Yeeeeah?"

Even the cold headed Samui felt her eye twitch. "They're gay"

"And?"

"Konoha is fine with this?" Karui softly asked.

"Well, why wouldn't we be? It's just two people in a relationship" It was then that his eyes widened. "Wait, Kumo doesn't let people...?"

"It's not illegal or anything" The Kumo Jinchuuriki tactfully said. "It's just... not really encouraged. The village sees it as robbing the chance of having future ninja"

The Uzumaki was now squinted at her. "That's pretty dumb. And what if their kids did not want to be ninja?"

"You can have a choice to be a civilian or shinobi. No one is forced into service. Orphans like me, Karui, and Omoi had the option to be civilians," Yugito explained while they walked through the street. "Though for me it became a full service after being selected as the new Nibi Jinchurriki."

"However you're expected as a Kumo Shinobi to be training during off duty hours," Karui also brings up.

"Damn," Naruto muttered as he shook his head. "So not much if any real R&R for you guys is there?" Granted he had been told out of the villages Kumo was the most militaristic, but never thought it was ingrained that MUCH.

"That's the life as a Shinobi Naruto-San," Samui said coolly as she walked.

A small groan came from the young blond as he cocked his head; "That's how _you_ see the Shinobi life Samui-San. Never hurts to unwind a little you know."

The buxom blond just shrugged while Yugito shook her head. If Naruto thought he could get Samui of all people to loosen up he'd be in for a surprise. Still she gave him an 'A' for trying since they started walking.

It was not long before they reached a simple ramen stand, owned by a middle aged man and his daughter. The ever squinting eyes of Teuchi looked upon their best costumer and smiled. "Ahhh welcome Naruto, welcome! Who are your friends?"

"Some very misguided people who don't know the awesomeness of your food, old man!" The blonde smiled, earning a collective eye twitch and glare from the foreign ninjas.

"Oh no, we can't have that!" Ayame cried out in faux scandal, "Take a seat, we'll treat you to the best ramen in the village!"

 **"Lend me your senses for a moment, kitten"** Matatabi asked her host. **"Ohhh it's been so long since I tasted... well, anything really"**

Yugito rolled her eyes with a fond smile, "Alright, alright" The owners believed the words were meant for them, and took their seats.

Once more they were unknowingly observed from the shadows. The violet eyes of a certain Uzumaki glared balefully at these Kumo Nin. Already tolerating them was taking a lot out of her, and seeing Naruto acting so friendly with the people who slaughtered their clan was already testing the limits of her patience.

She needed to have a clear talk with her son, once she managed to calm herself. Kushina feared if she went up to them now she'd do something she'd regret, something that would cause many problems for the village in the long run.

The Uzumaki took a deep breath and stealthily departed, she needed to let out some steam...

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"Your movements are sluggish," Jiraiya critiques in a harsh tone with his arms crossed; "The Kushina I recall could actually whip my ass on a good day when I actually felt like being serious."

"And I never could land a single hit," Kakashi chimed in while reading.

In a secluded training area the two stood not far from a huffing Kushina. Sweat dripped off her as she glared at both men who remained unflinching by her gaze. It had been at least an hour in of as the silver haired scarecrow dubbed it; 'Let's kick Kushina-Sama's ass into shape session'. And for the redhead it was galling that she was this fatigued already.

She was an ANBU captain for heaven's Sake!

An ANBU captain who had been on maternity leave for months with an increasingly larger belly, but still! She still had all her knowledge, muscle memory was there, she could perform the moves she wanted... but her muscles were currently more like soft dough rather than the corded athletic mass she had developed through years of training.

Apparently, the Divine Sleep seal did restore her to perfect health for the most part... to a civilian level; she had to regain her physical fitness on her own. Great...

Okay, the thing had literally saved her life; she wasn't going to complain about having to do more exercise. She wasn't a Nara!

She spat on the ground and lunged once more; Jiraiya uncrossed his arms and met Kushina's wild attack with a cold calculated defense. An elbow block to defend against a right swing, his own leg rose to meet the redhead's knee strike; again and again he countered her attacks perfectly. They were passionate, as the woman often was, but more than that they were wild, angry. Something had ticked her off today.

A kick against her left leg caused her to lose her footing, leaving her open to a series of swift punches to her abdomen, finishing with an uppercut that sent her flying backwards and to the ground.

Kakashi flipped a page, "That had to hurt"

It did. But Kushina didn't know what hurt more, her body or her pride.

"You're unfocused, not sure what's got you in such a huff, but I don't care. What I do care about is you being at such a pathetic state. If we're going to get you back to the woman who struck fear with her mere presence, you better get that head of yours in the game girl." Jiraiya spoke in a tone as harsh as his glare.

Getting back to her feet, her eyes shifted to Kakashi who looked up; "Oh my turn?" his tone a sarcastic drawl.

Kushina took a deep breath, feeling the heat leaving her body as sweat dripped down her brow. She flashed him a confident smirk. "Don't hold back kid, I wanna see what you're capable of doing after twelve-"

Kakashi unfolded his Hitai-ate revealing Sharingan and stared directly into Kushina's eye, she saw the tomoe spinning wildly as heaviness overtook her body.

"FU-!" She barely had time to swear as everything went dark, the genjutsu overtaking her.

She spent what felt a small eternity floating in the body before she was finally able to snap out of it. She stood up from the ground with a gasp of breath. Kushina panted heavily while Jiraiya and Kakashi looked down at her.

"Seven minutes, thirty nine seconds" Kakashi said matter of flatly. "Not bad for the level of genjutsu I used, but still took you longer to break it than I thought"

The redhead rested her head in her hands. "Too physically exhausted to fight it properly" She cursed at her own weakness.

"Getting you back into shape should be our top priority" The toad sage reasoned.

Kushina fought back a growl. "Could have told you that myself..."

"And now we are sure" Jiraiya shot back snidely. "Now get on your stomach and do two hundred push-ups, after that we're done for today"

Kushina dropped the ground and began doing push-ups in the earnest, not letting the exhaustion get to her. "Any news on the snake?" She asked while she pushed herself up and down from the ground.

"We're looking everywhere we can" Jiraiya assured her. "But you know he is a slippery one, not helped that he knows Konoha inside and out..." This already made a bad situation even worse.

"What has that sick fuck been up to all these years?"

The sannin snorted, "From what I learned? Lots, none of them good. Human experimentation, forbidden jutsu research. There was even a time in which joined a particular group I've been keeping an eye on for a long time now"

Kakashi's sole visible eye widened in recognition; "You mean... the Akatsuki?"

"Akatsuki?" Kushina muttered to herself. "Who the hell are those, another Blood Leash wannabe?" Great, just what the nations needed, more mercenaries and slavers. As if they didn't have enough to deal with Blood Leash, the biggest slaver enterprise in the nations, and a private army that fought for the highest bidder. The Land of Fire had been trying to take them out for decades now. And by what she heard, they were still around...

Jiraiya and Kakashi shared an uneasy look; "It's... more complicated than that. They are mercenaries yeah, but what my info tells me is that their goals are... something more"

The Gama Sannin paused for a long while; "This is the group Itachi is being a double agent for..." Kushina stopped mid push as she turned her head slowly and looked at the older man; "He makes contact with me when he can."

"From what we know of them this is a group of highly dangerous rogue ninja," Kakashi digressed after he was told not too long ago in wanting to know of Itachi's whereabouts. "And you might know a few names of them."

"Kisame Hoshikage, Kakuzu of Taki, Sasori of the Red Sand, monsters in their own right are among their ranks" Jiraiya figured she'd at least react to the last one considering the history between him and Kakashi's father.

But Kushina did not seem to hear him, or she did not seem to care for those individuals at the moment. She continued on her push-ups with renewed intensity. _'Itachi...'_ She thought mournfully.

"As for their goals" Jiraiya sighed. "Itachi's info tells me they are planning to target the Bijuu in the near future"

"WHAT!?" Kushina stopped as she yelled. What the hell would some group want the Bijuu? "There will be people coming after my son" There was a feral growl in the redhead's tone.

"I plan on making sure Naruto is prepared for them," Jiraiya reassured her; "But with you back, I gather you want to do that to?" Dumb question considering the look from Kushina. "Right now the group is doing all kinds of mercenary work. Building up their renown throughout the nations and gathering funds. It will be awhile before they start their real plan."

Then they had time in getting Naruto ready for these 'Akatsuki' guys. Like hell was Kushina having anyone take her son from her!

Her pushups increased in even greater vigor, determined to double the amount the perv had tasked her with. She needed to get back into shape if she wanted to help Naruto.

All the while, she used that time to ponder on how to speak to Naruto regarding certain… company he's been keeping lately.

* * *

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

* * *

"So why are you dragging me around the stores?" Karin asked weakly as she kept up with Sakura and Ino. The young Uzumaki redhead having met the Yamanaka heiress a week ago when meeting up with Sakura.

She had almost as much energy as her cousin, never mind the cockiness too. Still, next to Naruto's team it was nice making another friend.

"Well, you need some new clothes and really need to make that room of yours be more 'you' if you get what I mean." Ino smiled surveying the stores.

At that Karin squints; "I'm not really much of a girly girl." Sure she liked have some things that defined her as a lady. But she never liked going overboard.

"So we go by your pace and find what you like." Sakura winked as they stopped at a clothing stores; "So let's start with some clothes for you?"

"Consider this as day one of your new life girl! Starting with clothes!" The Yamanaka beamed while physically dragging Karin into the store. Sakura only giggled as she followed them.

Now living under Orochimaru, Karin wore very bland basic clothing, which was enough in her opinion. Her eyes slowly widened at the sight of so much clothing and multitude of styles. Her head swaying from side to side as he eyes took in every fabric laid out for a potential customer.

With her hands on her hips Ino smirked at her new friend's awed expression; "Shall we figure out your style hun?"

"No rush," Sakura gave a meaningful smile.

There was no rush indeed... which unfortunately for Karin, it ended up meaning they took AGES so she could try every single dress that they could find. The bespectacled girl couldn't really say any of these strike her fancy, until she spotted a two articles of clothing that she honestly could see herself wearing.

"This looks nice" She commented.

Sakura and Ino turned to what she was looking at and face faulted. "The ninja shorts and shirt?"

"Yeah"

"That look just like what you're wearing right now only in a different color?"

"...Yeah"

The two kunoichi gave her a look.

"Yes, yes. I'm hopeless, trust me I know"

"You're not hopeless" Sakura insisted, "You just never had the freedom to do stuff you like. I bet you never even went to get ice cream because you wanted to or..." She waved her hand around, looking for another example.

"Date cute boys!" Ino, of course, said excited. She rolled her eyes at the look the pinkette was giving her. "Oh I am taking my career seriously, but hey, I like what I like"

Well that was true, Sakura sighed a bit. Ino had started training together with her since their talk and reconnect as friends again. Taking the training sessions seriously and thankfully the former fangirl Ino was beginning to go away. Still, there were just some aspects that would always be Ino; Gossip, clothing, and boys.

"Well," the rosette clasped her hands together; "as your friends, Ino and I will make sure you're fully adapted to your new life here. This includes fashion tastes."

Karin supposed she could accept that. And while having real friends felt odd, it was also nice to have them. Guess it could not hurt to let this two help her find some stuff for her and her room.

* * *

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

* * *

Sasuke must have stared at the scroll for at least an hour.

He did not move from his position, kneeling on the ground with the Tiger scrolls perfectly settled in front on him. The silence in the house was so uncomfortably deep the movement of the clock's hands felt too loud. At moments his fingers twitching, as if finally deciding to move and open the scroll, only for him to hesitate and remain still.

Sasuke prided himself in being a determined individual; he knew his goals and went to claim them without any doubt.

But one look at that scroll and his determination crumbled to dust.

He should not feel this way; this was his legacy, something that was his own right to inherit.

And yet whenever he looked at it all he could see was his mother's face. A smiling face... A face that now he understood must have been a mask for a long time.

He took comfort in knowing his mother loved him, but to hear her life had seldom been of her own choosing... it honestly created a pain Sasuke was not accustomed too. He knew pain of tragedy, when injustice struck you. But this was a pain you felt for somebody else, when injustice befell another person.

The thought that his mother had been viewed by the clan elders as little more than an obedient servant was enough to drive him into rage

This scroll... this was part of his mother's life, her real life. This scroll was part of her pride, the legacy of her family line, something that she must have held unto when giving her life to the clan as a whole.

Part of him felt that signing the scroll himself would taint it. For the Tiger Contract was not tied to the Uchiha, the tigers made that very clear as he was told. Would they accept him? Would his mother want him to sign it?

 _"Whatever you choose, your mother would be proud of you regardless."_

The raven haired boy let out a grunt, ever since leaving that hospital Naruto's mother had frequented the Uchiha to check on him. Or annoy him for the most part, but, it felt comforting having someone visit him who was his mother's dearest friend.

Mostly she was over telling stories about his mother during their Genin days while cooking for him. For which he did not ask for, but she would NOT take no for an answer. Sasuke really saw where Naruto got a lot of his personality from.

Still, as much as Kushina had assured him. He had been hesitant to open the summing scroll _. 'For all I know they could outright reject me, at worse try to eat me alive.'_ They were tigers after all.

He took a look at his hands; '"Mother..." He knew prayers don't really help, but for this he felt like he had to. "I may not be worthy to even open this, but I want to make you proud. Not as an Uchiha, but as your son. After everything Naruto's mom told me, I just don't know what to think about our clan... But I do know this." His eyes shone with resolution. "After all the stories, I want to be like the ninja you were. So please, let me have your blessing to use this scroll."

The room was predictably silent. Yet he swore he felt lightness in the air around him now. His eyes look over the room before refocusing back to the scroll. A sigh escaped his lips; "I love you mother, I'll make you proud."

His hands reached for the scroll. Slowly he unlocked and unfurled it. He saw a few names, but the last one got his attention. 'Mikoto Uchiha'. Beside his mother's was likely his grandfather and great-grandfather. "Ryoichi and Tadao... I hope, as your grandson I'll do things right."

He bit into his thumb before looking at his mother's name, his name soon was written across from hers. A breathe he did not know he held escaped his lips once finished. It was done...

Should he try summoning now? Hmm, perhaps it'd be best to try out under supervision. Next time the team met on the training he'd try to make contact with the tigers.

For now, Sasuke prepared for his next persona training session. He had a match against a bloodthirsty maniac to worry about.

* * *

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

* * *

Naruto came home with a belly full of ramen, which was enough to keep him on a good mood for the rest of the day. Mom should be back from her training by now, and he was actually eager for a new lesson on fūinjutsu. Perhaps he'd be able to convince her to skip on storage sealing on go straight for explosive seals. He had the suspicion his mother had a fondness for those.

He was right, as he entered the living room and saw his mom sitting on the couch, eyes closed with her hands folded against her lap. Man she looked beat up, the perv and Kakashi-sensei did not go easy on her.

"Hey mom" He greeted her with a wide smile, causing her eyes to open and turn to him. Hmm, she had a strange look in them. "What's up?"

"Oh, you're here. Good" She sounded nervous. "There is... something I need to talk to you about"

A bit worried about what had his mother troubled, he wordlessly stood in front of her, watching her hands clench and unclench on her pants. Finally she took a deep breath and gave him a stern look. "What were you doing with those Kumo ninja today?"

He blinked. "You k-"

"Yes I know" She quickly cut it. "Now answer the question"

"We..." He shrugged. "We were just eating"

"Mhm" Her tone was not too pleased. "And may I know why?"

"Because we get along?"

By the look he in her eyes she was only more upset. She took a long deep breathe, as if she was trying to reign in her feelings. "Naruto, do you know what Kumogakure did to our clan?"

The blond gave a small nod; "I found out during the second part of the exam. And when they tried to kidnap Hinata."

"...Did you also know they also tried to kidnap me when I was your age?" Shock etched on her son's face. Clearly no told him about that incident. "So I'll ask why would you get along with people from Kumo."

Naruto had seen that look before, in Neji; "Because while what Kumo did was horrible, it wasn't Yugito and her team who did it."

The older Uzumaki's eyes twitched at that, she pinched the bridge of her nose and let out a long exhale. "You clearly don't get it"

"Did... Did I do something wrong?" He fearfully asked.

His fears were confirmed with his mother's next words. "Yes, yes you did" Naruto felt his heart throb painfully at the mere notion of having disappointed his mother in some fashion. Being a son had been such new wonderful yet frightening territory for him, he feared failing, to do something wrong in front of the eyes of she who had become an incomparable treasure to him.

"You honestly think you and anyone from Kumo can be friends?" Kushina said incredulously. "Those are the people who slaughtered OUR CLAN" She put emphasis in the words. "And don't give me that whole 'it wasn't them who did it', it makes no difference because if they are ordered to do so they will kill you and anyone you love"

"But they're-!"

"'Not like that'? You are just telling yourself that because you don't know any better!" Kushina stood up, angrily pacing around the room.

"What do you want me to do then?" He quietly demanded. "Not to see them anymore?"

"It's for your own good" Kushina assured him, believing she was getting through.

...But apparently that was not the case, as Naruto looked back at her defiantly. "What if I do want to be friends with them? Yugito is a Jinchuuriki like me, like you were"

"I am NOTHING like them!" She seethed. "And you should watch your tongue when speaking to me like that, I'm your mother" Children were supposed to obey their parents, that's how it's always been, that's how Tsunade raised her. "You know what their people did, why are you so forgiving?!"

"Because other people did it, not Yugito and her team!" Naruto cried back in exasperation, tears welling up in his eyes, the mere act of arguing with his mother was painful. "Why do you hate them so much?!" He needed to understand.

And Kushina made it very clear with just a few words

"BECAUSE THEY DESTROYED MY HOME AND KILLED MY FAMILY!" Her shout echoed throughout the house.

Naruto stood there flabbergasted the sheer intensity of emotion in his mother's voice, the anger, the hate, the pain. It reminded him of Sasuke in their early years in the Academy, once more he felt that pressure, once more he tried to empathize and understand but couldn't.

There was a brief but painfully heavy silence, broken only by Kushina's harried pants.

"Kumo, Iwa, the Kurokiba snake clan..." She muttered each name with loathing. "We did nothing to the villages, even in the wars we stayed mostly out of the conflicts, supporting Konoha in non-combat scenarios. But that was enough for them to see us as a threat" She plummeted down on the couch. "The Kurokiba clan has been a longtime enemy of ours and the dragons', so when a chance to strike presented itself, they did not waste it and informed two villages that would take it at a moment's notice"

A snake clan? That... was news to him. He had not heard any account of something like that being involved in Uzu's fall.

"I was already away from the village when it happened, given to Konoha to serve as the fox's jailor" Tears leaked from her eyes. "...By the time I heard the news, it was already too late, Uzushio was under heavy siege" Kushina ran a hand over her face, trying to stave off the flood without any success. "And by the time Konoha reinforcements arrived, the battle was over... our home had been utterly destroyed and our clan slain by the thousands... My father among those numbers"

Her father... _his_ grandfather; Daisuke Uzumaki. Quite a few tales had been told to him, about the late leader of Uzushio from his mom. He knew how he died defending Uzu, everything had been facts, but hearing it from his mother like this… this wasn't just a history lesson, this was a tragedy, this pain still fresh.

But still, all he knew of his grandfather and his clan were only stories. He had no real attachment to them unlike his mom who did, passionately so. He could not see or feel as strongly for their clan and late family like she did, because all the family he had was just his mother and Karin.

"Mom..." His voice was quiet but she raised her head as she listened; "All I know about Grandpa or the clan is from you and bit from Karin."

The horrifying realization finally dawned on Kushina. Naruto did not feel like she did... He most likely didn't even understand it.

He, who had grown up alone (a fact Kushina bitterly remembered) didn't understand what it was to lose something. That is not to say Naruto didn't know pain, or that he couldn't empathize with other people. But to truly understand that kind of pain took something else, it took having lived through the same thing.

Kushina was not heartless, she would not judge someone for not 'understanding her pain' like some kind of angsty brat who thought the world revolved around them. She understood pain was hard to measure, and you didn't need to have gone through the same thing to feel compassion for someone. Naruto, bless him, was a kind boy. He wanted to see the good in other people, to help them even if he didn't fully understood. Because he was an oddity in the shinobi world, he was someone who knew kindness. And for that Kushina was eternally grateful, knowing that her son grew up to be so wonderful. Hoping he could keep that sense of compassion which she herself had been forgetting throughout many years of loss and pain.

But even still, Kushina could not let go of that pain, a pain which Naruto for all his virtues did not understand. He just...

"You didn't live through it" Kushina muttered softly. "They didn't even let me return until they buried all the bodies... Seen what was done to my home, it felt like someone had ripped out my own heart"

Her son remained silent.

"Tsukiko-baachan's gardens where we played so much with her were now cinders. The streets filled with the smiles of our kin were wrecked beyond recognition. The enemy did not stop until they made sure our ancestral homeland was nothing but rubble... The place of my birth, my parents', my grandfathers', all of our ancestors... There was nothing left" A sob escaped her lips, the memories as fresh and painful as they had been all those years ago. "They took everything from us just because they could..."

Some much pain rolled off his mother, he never could put it to words how much his mom loved Uzushio. There was no words he could describe what feelings she had for their homeland and clan. And most likely he'd never find them because he never knew about them.

His mom was right, he did not experience what she felt when learning Uzushio was destroyed and her father, his grandfather murdered. He did not feel the ache she did of losing an entire clan like she and Sasuke did. And as far as she was concerned all of Kumo was the enemy to her. It did not matter who they were, they came from the village that took away her family and nearly kidnapped her like they tried with Hinata.

Yes what they did was beyond barbaric and wrong. But for Naruto; "I... I can't blame Yugito, Karui, Omoi, and Samui for something they never did and weren't even born yet, something beyond their control. Because it's exactly be like how people here blamed me for Kurama attacking the village."

"...I see that now" Kushina spoke meekly, understanding her son's view on it. She could not lie and say she was happy about it but... Maybe as his mother she had to respect his feelings on the matter.

She did not know; this whole 'motherhood' thing was such foreign territory for her, thrusted into the role of a twelve year old's mother from one moment to the next. Ideally, she would have grown into the role as Naruto himself grew up.

But things would never be like that, so she had to adapt.

"Do you... want me to stop seeing them?" Her son asked, fearful for the answer.

The Uzumaki took her time pondering on what she was going to say. "No" Naruto felt he could breathe again. "I won't forbid you, but... I just want you to understand the kind of risks you're taking" Gently she took his hands into hers looking her son in the eyes; "Just please be careful around them. All I ask." Naruto slowly nodded before being pulled into a hug; "I'm sorry for yelling."

Naruto hugged his mom back; "It's alright..."

"I just..." Kushina sighed; "I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing"

"If it helps, I'm on the same boat" The whiskered blonde replied.

The two manage to share a short laugh, knowing they'd be okay. They'd grow together as family.

Staying silently behind a corner, Karin smiled to herself.

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

 **Till next time!**

 **Next:** Dragon Age Origins 'Two Chapters'

 **And back to:** Naruto: Shoton of Konoha 'Two Chapters'

 **Attention:** 'One chapter' of Anbu Sennin: A Final Fantasy VII Story will be made in between.


	26. Another day

**Disclaimer** : We do not own Naruto

 **Co-Author and Beta** : Etheral-23

 **Ethereal-23** _ **: "So… a couple of things before we begin.**_

 _ **Arch and I have been discussing for a looooong while the matter of pairing. The thing is that we heavily disagreed on the one originally chosen. We just couldn't seem to reach an agreement.**_

 _ **Until we found a compromise, something we both liked… that is bound to piss off a lot of you.**_

 _ **We have decided that the pairing will not be with one of the existing characters. But an OC.**_

 _ **I know, I know, I can already imagine what some people are gonna type. Believe me I have my reservations about an OC too. But honestly? It was the best compromise we could get between us.**_

 _ **Too many OC in this story? Yeah we don't care. We're playing long term, massive expansion of the Naruto world and plot-lines. So it's not something that's gonna happen from one chapter to another.**_

 _ **We just felt it was appropriate to be forthcoming about this. If you wanna leave the story because of it that's your right.**_

 _ **So anyway, on with the chapter"**_

 **Chapter 26: Another day**

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

As the morning rays of light cleaved through the window of their current lodgings, it settled down upon a futon with disheveled sheets and the naked form of a woman covered in said sheets. Her very wild and long red hair went all over her back and even spread a little beyond the width of the shoulders, a few bangs covering her eyes.

She smacked her lips and groaned in discomfort as her slumber ended, she tiredly moved to get closer to the form of her partner, seeking the warmth and comfort of her lover's presence. Only to find the bedside empty as her arm reached forward and felt nothing but the mattress.

Slowly she raised her head, running a hand over her wild mane while yawning; she tucked away a stray bang covering one blue eye, freeing her vision. She slumped and pursed her lips in displeasure at the sight that her lover was not present.

She had a good idea of where she was right now. "Meditating at sunrise..." She muttered in a groggily morning voice. "Damn sage-y things, who does that?"

Disgruntled, she lazily sat up as the blanket fell to her waist she stretches her arms above her head, with a small sigh she lets them drop as she gets out of bed, not bothered by her own state of nakedness. "Guess I will make breakfast then."

* * *

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

* * *

The warmth of the sun and the cool breeze made for a perfect combination which brought comfort to her entire body, further relaxing her. On a field of grass, a woman sits meditating in a half-lotus position, eyelids closed and a serene expression on her face. Her messy blonde hair swayed with wind, the breeze caressing her mocha skin.

Her attire consisted of a one-sleeved light blue robe filled with wave and wind motifs with the sleeve covering her right arm, though she wore long dark fingerless arm gloves that reached to her biceps in both arms. A black tube top covered her chest area, her robe tied with a red sash; she also wore dark green loose pants and sandals.

Her mind drifted into the wind and the earth itself, allowing her to feel the natural energy flowed all around her. She welcomed it with her soul, but it did not enter her body, and slipped her grasp when she tried reaching it... just like she always did.

She refused to feel frustration; it went against her training and all she strived for. Determined to try again and again until she could finally succeed... Though a part of her wondered why it kept happening, why did nature not answer her calling.

Was she doing something wrong? For years she had prepared not just her body but also her mind, reaching out to the planet, not in demand of its power, but to further enrich her spirit. Just like her ancestors had done for so long, it was her duty to keep alive the clan's traditions. Her purpose was far from selfish; she should have made progress by now.

This failure, this disappointment, was unacceptable. The sudden flash of anger was quickly suppressed, her hands tightening and relaxing.

She was soon distracted, and she welcomed it, for it took her away from this place that made her feel negative emotions. "Hey!" It was the arrival of a familiar and exuberant voice. "Brought you something to eat" The redhead said, carrying a tray with tea and toasts, she was dressed in a sleeveless white shirt and a pair of black shorts.

"Thank you Lyn" The blonde replied patiently. "But during meditation, I require no substance other than harmony with the energies of nature" It was then that her body betrayed her, her stomach emitting a loud growl. If she wasn't so controlled of her own impulses she would blushed, or at least, she convinced herself she wasn't blushing.

"Aw, you're blushing!"

Damn it...

Lyn only giggled taking a seat as her girlfriend heaved a small sigh as she opened her sapphire eyes. "Still no luck honey?" The dry glare from the buxom blond was her answer which only mad the redhead smirk; "You'll get there. Haven't met someone so dedicated like you are with all the sage-y mysticism stuff."

"It's called Senjutsu, not _'Sage-y mysticism stuff'_." Kya's clarification was met with Lyn sticking her tongue out at her; "Very mature for a woman in her mid-thirties."

"Well I'm Uzumaki, to us that means little" In a way, Lyn was right. If she survived this rather dangerous life of theirs, she might live well into being two centuries old.

But on the other hand, "That has little to do with maturity"

"What, you saying I should be a stick on the mud like you?" The wild maned redhead casually replied as she leaned to the side and picked her ear, "No thanks, you bring enough seriousness to this relationship as it is"

Well, somebody had to. Kya fought back a twitch of her eye at once more mentally admitting that this contrived thing the two of them had was apparently a 'relationship'.

Lyn groaned as she lifted her arms above her head, stretching her fingers, "I got a bounty today, some basin has been attacking a nearby village" She sighed in satisfaction as the joints in her limbs popped. "You want chicken today?"

The mocha skinned blonde was going to say no to Lyn's dish, even if the food in question was a giant fire breathing chicken. "I would, thank you"

The Uzumaki stood up and stretched her legs, "You gonna stay here meditating?" She asked with a touch of exasperation.

"You could benefit from it" Kya spoke with sincerity, "Your body is very compatible for sage training"

"Pffft wouldn't even know where to begin. Would love to carry on baachan's legacy but... I dunno. I think I'm not ready for that yet" The redhead said, her gaze becoming a little lost and melancholic. She soon shook her head and scoffed, "I'd rather be doing something fun, standing still for hours on end doesn't really appeals me" Kya suppressed a sigh. Well, she supposed Lyn was in tune with the world in her own way. She certainly was as wild as nature itself. "When I get back I'll go over the details for the journey to Konoha"

Kya soon regained her meditation stance, resting her hands over her knees and closing her eyes, "Will you take Tamamo with you?"

"I'd like to, but the girl might be busy. Some stuff going on later about-" Lyn soon fell silent, blinking a few times and she realized something. "Wait, you're not coming?" She asked in genuine surprise.

The blonde opened her eyes to give her and impassive look, "I thought my showing no interest in Saito's invitation was clear"

A mild glare came from her Uzumaki lover; "Oh come on! Never mind that Kushina came back, apparently she had a child with Minato Namikaze. A member of your clan!"

Kya remained impassive; "Being of mixed blood does not make him family. And my parents never knew his family. I am not like you or the other Uzumaki when it comes to family bonds."

Lyn let out a low growl, Kya had always been like this with people. Granted what she endured gave her good reason to be uninterested in meeting people let alone trust them. But no one can close themselves off from everyone forever. Being alone never solved anything... Except being lonely.

But now here was a chance for Kya to see another member of her own clan. Half-blood or not, this Naruto boy was as much Namikaze as he was Uzumaki, he deserved to meet a fellow kin. And Kya might never open up to nearly anyone, but by the Gods maybe she might open to another Namikaze.

Lyn knelt down; "You don't know how many Namikaze are left. And this Naruto boy may never meet one unless you go to Konoha. Same for you." Her eyes glared with unwavering steely resolve. "And here I thought you knew the importance of keeping legacy alive. Going on and on about your clan's heritage" She crossed her arms, "Now the chance of passing it to another Namikaze comes by and you outright refuse it, doing a bang up job there hon..."

The blonde's sapphire blue eyes narrowed in barely contained anger. Lyn had delivered a particularly heavy blow, one that hit her directly at her pride. But... she had a point. The Namikaze clan's heritage was barely alive as it was, long years of wandering and attacked by many enemies had left their people scattered to the winds. In all her life the only other Namikaze she had known were her parents. Their current situation put their sacred traditions at risk of being forgotten.

How could she call herself her parents' daughter if she just let that happen?

Kya sighed as Lyn grinned widely; the redhead knew she had won. "Perhaps... I should pass on what I know. As a Namikaze he has a right to learn of his heritage"

The redhead threw up her arms in cheer, "Success!"

"But don't think I'll 'bond' or anything with him" The blonde warned her with a glare. "I'm just doing my duty, that's it. My sage training takes priority"

"Oh I know" Lyn winked, "But I think this trip will be good for you. Who knows? You might actually like the kid"

Doubtful...

* * *

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

* * *

"You really sure you're twelve?" Karin teased Naruto as the blond sluggishly waked up, popping several joints. "You creak like an old man." A giggle escaped her while being glared at by her cousin.

"Oh shut up, I'm not a morning person." While his redheaded cousin was already dressed in her new blue Kimono top and shorts.

"Aunt Kushina is getting breakfast ready. Get a shower and some clothes Naruto-Jiji." Kari only laughed as she ran out of the blond's room as he threw his pillow at her.

After a quick shower and getting dressed the blond paused as he entered the living room upon hearing a knock on the door. It was probably Sakura since she usually visited in the mornings. Nearing the door and opening it he was surprised at who was standing at his door.

"Hey," Ino gave a light wave with a small smile.

Confusion etched on Naruto's face as he blinked. "Uh, hey..." She was probably here to see Karin since Sakura introduce her to the Yamanaka heiress. "Karin's in-" He froze as Ino had suddenly globbed him into a hug. Saying he even more confused now would be an understatement.

Still, a hug was always nice to get.

"Is... something wrong?" Naruto asked he returned the hug.

A long sigh came from the Yamanaka as they detached; "Just wanted to say sorry for how I acted back in the academy." She gave her fellow blond a regretful grin; "after the prelims and talking to Sakura I figured I had to really refocus myself."

That Naruto had heard from his rosette haired teammate. "But also, I wanted to make up for being not much of a nice person."

To her surprised Naruto simply waved it off; "To be fair I did kind of act like an idiot back then." Kurama snorted in his mind but the blond ignored it. "So, yeah we're cool."

That was it, no yelling? Well she happy not to get yelled at, though she felt she kind of deserved it. Huh, Sakura wasn't lying saying how forgiving Naruto really was.

"Who's at the door?" Both blonds turn to see Kushina's head peeking out from the kitchen. The older redhead took a look at Ino; "Oh Inoichi's girl."

"Ino Yamanaka," The young kunoichi gave a respectful bow; "Nice to meet you."

"Well don't just stand there like logs, invite her in sochi. She can have breakfast with us."

* * *

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

* * *

The moment Ino sat on the table she was already regretting her decision of coming here. Good gods almighty she had only seen this much food on a table when Choji invited her to dinner with his family. It seemed the Uzumaki household held a similar philosophy; eat or be eaten. Karin only ate a moderate amount while Kushina and Naruto devoured everything in sight, which were bowls upon bowls of noodles. Where did all that food go?

"Shou knom" Kushina mumbled with her mouth full before swallowing. "You know, I actually saw your fight"

Ino's head tilted curiously, "Oh?"

"It was pathetic"

Her gaze became downcast. "Oh..."

"Seriously, what the hell are they teaching you girls in the Academy nowadays?"

Karin glared at her; "Aunt Kushina..." She muttered harshly.

"You know what I was doing when I was your age? I was being a professional ninja"

Naruto deadpanned; "I have SEVERAL people that say the complete opposite"

"I can play pranks AND be professional, 'ttebane!"

Well Ino could definitely tell where now where Naruto had gotten his personality from. And this was the feared Red Death? The blond shook her head; "In truth it was really my fault for not taking ninja training seriously. Plus I got into being a shinobi for the wrong reasons."

"Being a fan girl," Ino winced at Kushina's bluntness. "But Sakura knocked some sense into you?" Well she already knew since the pinkette told her how she and Ino had started training together at her house. But she wanted to hear it from her and see how resolute Inoichi's girl was.

"Yes ma'am." the Yamanaka gave a nod; "Listening to what Sakura told me about Nami got my attention."

"Good." Kushina smiled

"And..." Ino glanced to Naruto; "wanted to see if you wanted to be friends with me." Her eye twitched at the sight of Naruto stopping mid-eating his Ramen and look at her. He really needed some table manners...

Slurping up his noodles with a gulp the blond Uzumaki blinked; "That sounds cool."

At that came a bright smile and wink from Ino before she looked to Kushina; "After the exams you alright with my team training with Naruto's?"

"You know Kakashi is team 7's sensei right?" the redhead chuckled. "Buuuut I don't see a problem with it. Means I get to meet Shikaku's and Chōza's boys."

Hearing that Naruto squints while Ino sweatdrops; "Don't expect much from Shika." Both muttered.

* * *

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

* * *

Hinata sighed to herself as she stepped out of the hospital, after getting a clean bill of health she was free to return home. To the glares of Neji, the judgmental look of her father and the elders. If she were being completely honest, Hinata wouldn't have minded a few days on the hospital bed, facing Neji wasn't something she looked forward to. If they even let him close to her at all that is, oh dear, she hoped her father hadn't punished him too harshly. Neji was not a bad person, he was just lost.

Her pearly eyed gaze dropped to the ground. It was her own fault, had she won the match in the prelims perhaps she could have made some change in her dear cousin... But she didn't and she had to live with it.

Steeling her resolve, she looked up-

"Hi there~!"

And got scared out of her wits, falling to the ground with a squeak. Good thing they were at the hospital, they would treat her after this heart attack.

"Oh my" The redheaded woman looked at her in concern. "You okay there, hon?"

Hinata gazed upward and froze with a blush as she saw Naruto, but also his mother and Karin looking back. "N-N-Naruto-Kun! K-Kushina-Sama! K-Karin-San!"

The blond knelt down in front of the Hyuuga heiress; "You okay?"

Kushina gave the young girl a look over as her son helped her up. Oh she looked like her mother alright. "Sorry I haven't got a chance to meet you, you definitely look like Hitomi."

That gained Hinata's attention from conversing with the Blond to look at Kushina; "You knew my mother?"

"Went to the academy with her. I know your dad and late uncle too." The older redhead's voice softened. Shaking away the negativity Kushina leaned forward which made Hinata freeze being face to face with the legendary Red Death; "Hmm... Yup exactly like your mom."

"We were coming to check up on ya," Naruto had made a promise to himself to visit Hinata, making up for his forgetfulness. He had least been coming to see her once a day. It was a bit awkward at first with Naruto doing most of the talking and Hinata being too shy to say much.

But she had loosened up a little. And became friends with Karin when she came with Naruto at times.

"Heard you were coming out of the hospital, so I wanted to see how you were doing" Kushina said as she sat on the balls of her feet in front of the Hyuuga. "That cousin of yours was a dick" She blushed heavily at the crude language. Oh dear.

"N-Neji-niisan is not bad" Hinata spoke as she smoothed her clothes and shyly looked at the redhead.

"Oh honey, you are just too nice" Kushina beamed at her, "Let me introduce myself formally, I know you pearly eyes like that stuff. Name's Kushina Uzumaki, nice to meet you"

The purple haired girl managed a small smile, folding her hands in front of her. "M-My name's Hinata Hyuuga" And bowed. "It's a pleasure to meet you"

Kushina made a strange face, "HNG!" Oh goodness, her voice, the shyness, the adorable looks. This girl was just so... so... "CUTE!" Without warning, she grabbed the girl into a tight hug and rubbed her check with hers, much like she used to do with sweet Rin. "Ohhhh I just wanna eat you all up!"

Karin sighed while Naruto dryly said, "Mom, you're making her uncomfortable"

Hinata was going cheery blossom pink. She was not used to physical contact like this at all, much less from someone so enthusiastic.

"I'd thank you not to smother my student, Kushina-sama" A voice came to Hinata's aid. Walking towards the hospital came a beautiful woman with long dark hair, red eyes, and a distinct outfit which resembled bandages but on a pattern. Along with her came Shino and Kiba, the latter who waved with a bright 'Yo!' Akamaru barking happily on his head. "I believe you're making her uncomfortable" Kurenai admonished, yet a small smile tugged at her lips.

"I lay claim to this girl" Kushina said resolute, holding Hinata tightly against her chest. "If anyone dares harm this precious cinnamon roll, I will destroy them"

"Hiashi-Dono might not care for that Kushina-Dono." Shino spoke in his usual monotone.

Kiba only sweatdropped at the redhead childishly sticking out her tongue; _'Is this really the legendary feared red Death?'_ He looked over to Naruto who was squinting. _'Well the weirdness matches.'_

Kurenai being apparently the adult among the two tried to get Kushina to relinquish her hug from a full body blushing Hinata. She failed.

Naruto weakly chuckled; "Mom likes to hug."

"We noticed blondie." Kiba spoke dryly. He soon leaned back as Kushina leaned over to him with an extremely serious expression. The young Inuzuka froze while Akamaru dropped off his head and into Karin's arms.

"So...Tsume's brat. Looks like Hana got the looks in the family though." She dryly turned to her head over to Shino; "Your dad Shibi?" She had gotten a nod, which was as much as she would get from an Aburame; "Tell him I said hi." She leaned back to look at Kurenai; "Don't think I've seen you before though."

At that the female Jounin chuckled; "You might know my father perhaps. Shinku Yūhi?"

"OH… Nope, sorry hun but ringing no bells dear."

Kiba snickered at the sight of their sensei frowning in mild annoyance. "Hmm, my father said he only knew you professionally at most. I must say it is a pleasure to know you, you are an inspiration to kunoichi everywhere in this village"

"Good" The redhead sniffed, "About time people recognized how awesome I am"

"...The stories about your personality don't do it justice"

"Thank you!" Kushina took it as a compliment, it was not.

Kurenai shook her head before looking kindly at her sole female student, "Are you feeling alright, Hinata?"

"Y-Yes sensei" The girl muttered from her place amidst Kushina's bosom.

"You can tell her to let you go if you want to" Her teacher sincerely hoped she did. Learning how to say no was an important step Hinata had yet to take.

"But I like hugging her!" Kushina whined, tightening her embrace. The Uzumaki was not making it easy, but it served as a better test for the girl.

"Mom/Aunt Kushina," Naruto and Karin drawl in monotone.

The older redhead huffed; "Oh fine." She gently placed the Hyuuga girl back on the ground and freed to breathe again. "OH!" Kushina raised a finger as she remembered a thought; "Wondered if after the exams you like to train with us?"

That made the Genjutsu mistress blink; "Hmm... My team is more of a sensory team than anything."

Kiba however looked excited; "Oh come one Kurenai-Sensei! This sounds like fun to me. And gets some good sparring with Naruto and Sasuke!" Akamaru barked happily in Karin's arms while she pets him.

Did dog-breathe actually not call him dobe? Naruto looked genuinely surprised as he swore he heard a mild respect coming from Kiba.

Adjusting his shades Shino spoke up; "It wouldn't hurt to diversify our training."

Kurenai thought it over for a moment, "I do believe our team has been lacking in terms of raw combat prowess"

"Hey, that's what I'm here for!" Kiba retorted, feeling his pride wounded. "I'm the power house of the team!"

"And you got your ass handed to you in the prelims" Naruto felt the need remind him.

The Inuzuka growled ferally at that, but soon pressed his lips and let the growl die down in his throat. "Yeah... Guess I still have a long way to go. That bitch-UCK!" Kurenai bonked him in the head. "That... Kumo girl I mean knew how to overpower me in close quarters. Hmph, would have fought differently had I mastered the combined transformation technique yet"

Kushina's eyes lit up, "Ohhh you mean the one you Inuzuka's fuse with your dogs and turn into giant multi-headed monsters?"

"You can do that?" Naruto's hands flew to his head, "Th-That is so cool!"

"Damn right it's cool," Kiba smirked with pride as he puffed his chest.

For which Shino quickly deflated him; "You still have not fully mastered your Shadow Beast Clone with Akamaru."

"Shut up! Sis likes to rub that in enough as it is!"

A snort came from Kushina; "I imagine Hana-chan could runs circles around you!" Kiba only slumped forward with a whine that came from the little puppy.

"You can't rely on big flashy techniques all the time, Kiba" Shino reminded him, "Why? Because you will not always have the chakra needed to perform them"

Kiba threw his head back and groaned, "Must be nice to be a chakra tank like you" He said to Naruto.

"Can't complain" The blonde replied. It really saved his skin plenty of times before.

"Chakra levels only get you so far. Look at your teammate's father" Kushina gestured to Shino, "I know for a fact Shibi's reserves are decent enough, but he's got such fine control of his bugs he can pretty much make them devour a good chunk of a forest"

Kushina then pointed to Hinata; "Hitomi was one the best users of the Byakugan with her sheer precision. Hiashi was always amazingly skilled at their clan's Taijutsu." She noticed the distance in Hitomi's daughter's eyes. Kushina doubt Hiashi would tell her, but she wanted to speak to him anyways what had happened in the years she was gone. "However the Byakugan while their greatest strength it's also a crunch if you're not careful. A chakra-laced flashbang is a great tool to use against dōjutsu."

Hinata winced as she recalled lessons about the Byakugan's weakness.

"Main point though, all of you are still Genin. You're just getting into this, and you have not even scratched the surface of where you could go." Kushina crossed her arms under her bust; "Right now you're all rookies. As Sakumo-sensei said; ' _untested blades are never safe to bring to battle_.'"

Kiba deadpanned; "In other words buckle down and train our asses off."

"BINGO!"

* * *

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

* * *

To say Sasuke didn't like to open up to people was like saying water was wet. It kind of went unsaid, something everybody knew for a fact. So for Naruto to see him like this, eager yet nervous, masked beneath a veil of carefully maintained indifference, he knew this was one of those moments he would treasure. When Sasuke casually asked his team to be there for his first summoning, he understood the Uchiha needed somebody to be there because this was important to him in more ways than he could properly put into words beyond his usual grunts.

Sakura stood with her arms folded in front of her while Kakashi lazily stood behind them, hands in his pockets. Naruto and his mother were nearly bouncing on their feet, excited to see who would Sasuke's first summoned partner.

The Uchiha in question looked resolute, staring at nothing in particular as he stood in the middle of the training field surrounded by his teammates. No more delays, no more excuses, it was time to live to his mother's legacy.

His hands flew into the handsigns pattern with great proficiency, as he had practiced them many times before, biting into his thumb to draw blood and slamming his palm on the ground.

" _Kuchiyose no Jutsu_!"

Smoke burst forth from the summoning array that formed around his hand.

Sasuke let out a sharp breath. He had done it, he had taken the first step towards his mother's tradition, that of his grandfather and great-grandfather. And so would he follow it with his pride held high not just as an Uchiha, but as Mikoto's son. He was certain his partner would be the one he needed for such journey, an equally proud and strong fighter just like-

"EKKKKK! I can't believe I got summoned!"

A voice whose sheer excitement and joy that made Sasuke shiver made itself known.

With blinding speed, a blur popped out of the smoke, barreling into him with enough force to send him to the ground. Sasuke grunted as the newcomer pressed with their pawns against his chest and shoved their face right into his.

"Am I your partner?!" A white Bengal tiger, a cub no bigger than a housecat, cried out with the intensity of a hundred toddlers high up on sugar. "I am aren't I?! AHHHHHHHHHHH!" The far too cheerful tiger shrieked.

The white tiger cub affectionately rubbed her face with a loud purr against Sasuke's whose eye twitched. The tiger cub must be under the category of what people called 'adorable' because both Sakura and Kushina squealed so loud Kakashi and Naruto had to cover their ears.

"She is so cute!" The Uzumaki matriarch gushed in utter delight. "You are a she right?" The white tiger cub turned to look at her with blinking blue eyes; "Hi! Kushina Uzumaki, I was friends with the previous Tiger summoner Mikoto Uchiha."

The tiger gasped; "YOU'RE KUSHINA UZUMAKI!? But the chief said you were dead." leaping off young Sasuke much to his relief the tiger circled the redhead sniffing; "You don't smell dead. Why aren't you dead? Was the chief lying?"

Everyone blinked at how fast those questions came in rapid-fire without so much of a breath. Kushina however remained unaffected; "Almost died. Got stuck in a scroll for a while."

"OHHH! Bet that sucked." The tiger said bluntly before smiling showing her sharp fangs; "I'm Ty Lee Hello! Yes I'm a girl!" Before anyone could blink Ty lee had ran back to Sasuke leaping up. Unconsciously he caught her before she could hug him with her paws and lick his face spiritedly.

Naruto tried as hard as he could to reign in his laughter, shoulders shaking wildly, he feared he might slip up but he just found this utterly hilarious. Kakashi hid his face in his book but his shoulders gave him away. This had to be karma or something!

Naruto had a look like he just achieved eternal bliss, "I want to thank all the gods in heaven for witnessing this moment"

Sasuke grunted as he kept Ty Lee as far away from his face as his arms would allow. "Glad you're enjoying this..."

"Ohhhh immensely!"

"Imma be the best partner ever, just you watch!" Ty Lee swore passionately, "We're gonna have tons of adventures, and we're gonna have fun, and, and, and eat lots of sweets!" She happily said as she wiggled in his grasp.

This cub was like the polar opposite of Hien.

Sakura tried to reign her giggling, tried being the key word. "I-I'm honestly surprised you got one like... this" Hyperactive didn't feel enough to properly describe how energetic Ty Lee was.

"I want to change. Right now" Sasuke demanded.

"Awww don't be like that, you sour puss!" The cub admonished.

Kushina chuckled, "Oh so sorry Sasuke, these are the rules. First one you summon is gonna be your main partner" The Uchiha looked like he was going to protest more, until Kushina gave him a sly smile. "Wouldn't want to break the same rules your mother followed would you?"

The glare he was giving her could have set her ablaze, but he hanged his head and sighed in defeat. "Fine..." He sternly looked at the white tiger. "But you better tone this attitude you have down, I don't do that stuff"

"You don't do happiness, excitement, the joy at all the wonderful things life can give you?" The tiger questioned.

"Yeah. None of that"

"Hmph!" Ty Lee pouted at him, "You're no fun! But just you wait, I'm gonna stick around just so I can get a smile out of your frowny face!"

Kushina smiled widely to herself, before noticing the look Kakashi was giving her. There was no rule about 'first summon is your main partner'. That didn't make any sense to begin with as a summoner could summon any specific creature for the task at hand. You didn't have to stick with one on a longer basis than you did with any other animal unless you wanted to.

The Uzumaki matriarch just winked at him, asking him to keep quiet with that simple gesture. Kakashi sighed; well perhaps this Ty Lee cub would be good for Sasuke. A more counterbalancing influence on his life perhaps, time would tell.

"So what do you do for fun?" Ty Lee asked her summoner upon being set down.

"I train" He curtly replied.

"That's no fun! You should chase mice!"

"Are you a tiger or a housecat..?"

* * *

XxX ~ the following day ~ XxX

* * *

She had begun to notice to crowd of people was steadily growing as the days rolled by since coming to the Hidden Leaf Village. People were no doubt excited for the 3rd stage of the Chunin exams, though as far as her personal opinions go on being ninja in this age, Kuroreimei found it utterly laughable.

In a time long passed she recalled the true assassins who were masters of the shadows and blades. If you had managed to see a true shinobi, you were already dead. These 'ninja' as far as she was concerned were glorified government funded mercenaries.

Still, they served a purpose she supposed.

The balance of the Elemental Nations was delicate to maintain, but such balance had quickly become stagnation in less than a century. Now the ninjas were locked in a pointless cycle of retaliation. Attack, defend, counter-attack, and prepare for the next conflict. Such narrow sighted path was no way to live. Humans always had trouble looking at the bigger picture and thinking long term.

And she was meant to find an inheritor of Rama's Will here of all places?

The pale dark haired woman sighed to herself. Was she doing the right thing, or just trusting blindly in prophecies? How was she even going to witness such a will, it wasn't something that anyone could just show out of the blue.

Her thoughts were soon interrupted as she was caught off guard by a young blond haired boy that smacked into her and making both her and the blond hit the ground hard.

Naruto let out a groan as he shook his head, he was so caught up on the fact he was late for practice he had not noticed someone in his path and ran into her. Rubbing his eyes with right hand, his left felt he was grabbing something really soft. "Do you always run into a lady and grab their breasts young man?"

The blond froze before lowering his hand and finding himself on-top of a raven hair woman in a red kimono who was dryly staring at him. With his other hand holding one of her breasts. Kuro swore the boy teleported off of her now standing with an intense blush covering his cheeks. "I-I'M SORRY!" he outright in a panic yelled waving his arms frantically.

"Hmph" She stood up, dusting off her kimono. The woman kept a perfectly controlled expression in her face despite the mild irritation she felt. "No harm done" Honestly, to have been so distracted by her own thoughts she didn't notice someone running at full speed, shame on her.

The boy was still doing everything he could to avoid looking at her in the eye. Pre-teens...

"So, do I not get to know your name after you got so forward with me?" She gave him a teasing smile.

"I-I said I was sorry!" He quickly sputtered. "N-Naruto Uzumaki, ma'am"

Her smile shattered as her red eyes widened ever so slightly in surprise. "Uzumaki you say"

Well now... interesting.

"Uh, yeah" The blonde scratched his neck awkwardly. "Guess you heard of my clan?"

"Enough to know you're supposed to be redhead"

"Oi! It's the genes' fault!"

"Of course" She humored him, and scrutinized him with a critical eye before giving him a friendly smile. "My name is Kuroreimei. Kuro if you'd rather avoid the mouthful"

"Nice to meet you!" He gave her a beaming smile which showed all his teeth. "Can we forget... 'That' ever happened?"

She chuckled. "No problem. Now" She softly bowed to look at him closer. "You were in a big hurry, don't you need to keep going?"

His blue eyes widened, as though he had just realized. "Crap, you're right!" He began sprinting once again, giving her a last look and a wave as he spun mid-step. "Sorry about earlier, see ya!" And disappeared on a corner.

Kuroreimei chuckled to herself, such a fun kid... The humor in her quickly died down, her brow furrowing in deep thought. Someone from that line... So the Uzumaki carried on. Was this what the seer had seen? Was this where that legendary will would be reborn?

The Queen of Lanka did not believe in coincidences. She would keep a close eye on that boy.

* * *

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

* * *

Naruto let out a long weary sigh. Not only did he bump into some lady he had accidentally groped her as well. And if that was not enough his mother added a few 'EXTRA' hour of training for being late.

Oh he felt so damn sore in places he never thought possible!

Heading through the village to get some ramen for a break he spotted someone who made him smile; "Haku-chan!"

The said Hyoton user perked up upon hearing her name and turned seeing Naruto run up to her. "Naruto-kun." Beside her were Kouhei and Chojuro.

"Sup," The whip wielder of Haku's team said casually before grimacing; "What the hell happen to you?"

The question came to the look of blond Uzumaki. Front head to toe he looked like he was in small-scale war. Even his clothes were in partial tatters "Sparring lesson with my mom."

Haku winced but kept a friendly smile, "I see she did not go easy on you" The twitch in his eye did not look healthy. "We were just heading over to train ourselves"

"Right" Naruto said as he remembered, "You and Chojuro are gonna fight in the final exams" He placed his arms akimbo, as he looked at the two. "So, Yugito-chan and the Suna girl. Kind of like your opposites in the fight I think, one is fire the other is long range"

"It will be a challenge" Haku admitted, "But we're confident in our chances"

Kouhei snorted, "You're confident, four eyes here can't stop shaking at the thought"

The young swordsman let out a sad whine and looked down on the ground.

Haku gave him a reproaching stern glare, "Kouhei..."

"What? If he can't man up for his round, then he's not gonna impress anyone to get a promotion, much less actually win his match"

Naruto deadpanned, "Says the guy who lost his match"

A vein throbbed underneath the whip wielder's forehead. "Hey, my opponent was a total freak!"

He wasn't wrong in that regard. Gaara was a beast, plain and simple. But... knowing he was a jinchuuriki, Naruto couldn't help but feel sympathy for him. He could only imagine what he went through. To kill as to 'justify his existence'... he couldn't even begin to describe how messed up that was. The things Suna must have done to Gaara for him to develop that sort of mentality, that... sheer bloodlust, that overall sense of wrongness. It made Naruto feel much more grateful his later childhood was relatively happier and much safer than whatever Gaara had been through.

He felt the need to help Gaara, because Naruto could feel the pain and loneliness that laid beneath, he understood it very well...

He shook his head out of those depressing thoughts, he didn't even know how to help Gaara in the first place. So he focused on the present, a curious thought coming to the forefront of his mind as he remembered a peculiar detail of that fight in the prelims.

"You still slapped him around real good though. Didn't know you had a water element that strong"

"Yeah," Kouhei's tone was outright dismissive. He soon turned his head to look away.

The three teens were taken aback by how un-talkative Ringo was about using that powerful water element. You would think having something like that you'd least brag about it. But ever since the month for the 3rd exams begun Haku had told Naruto that Kouhei went quiet when by upon being mentioned.

Like he hated it, for whatever reason.

"Why didn't you use it before? Your water affinity is through the roof, man"

"Cause I didn't feel like it, okay?" Tough his eyes were mostly hidden by his hair, they could feel the intense glare coming from them.

Haku's gaze softened considerably. She had tried asking Zabuza about what they had seen in the prelims, and even though it was beyond obvious the bandaged man knew something, he kept it hidden underneath vague lies, 'How should I know?' he had said, 'Kouhei's business are his own'. And it was obvious Zabuza knew Haku didn't buy it, but whatever the truth was, he wasn't talking. No, Kouhei would have to tell them on his own volition eventually. If that day ever came at all.

Naruto couldn't really understand it himself. But it looked like he wasn't getting any answers out of the Ringo anytime soon, so he just let it slide. None of his business, Kakashi-sensei would say. Of course, that hadn't stop Naruto before, but even he could tell Kouhei wasn't nearly even ready to talk about this subject that burdened him so much.

"You guys want to go eat some time?" Naruto asked changing the subject.

Haku gave a light nod; "When we can." The Ringo gave a quick thumbs up with nod from Chojuro.

* * *

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

* * *

One would think serving as the entrance gatekeepers would be the most tedious job in the whole village. But Kotetsu Hagane and Izumo Kamizuki knew better, contrary to popular belief, most of the time it was actually the main entrance by which enemy ninja would try to sneak in. A good ninja hid himself in plain sight, disguised as simple civilians, merchants or the like. As such, it was their duty to see through the disguises of any potential enemy Nin. Proper documentation was only the first step, and with the final part of the exams soon to roll in, there were lots of forgeries going around. A quick snap of their fingers and the ANBU stationed there would soon take down whoever they thought was a threat. Never did Kotetsu and Izumo let pass someone who they knew was lying about their identity.

Until today in which they had specific orders to let one such person pass that is.

The documentation was good, very good even... In fact it was too good, how the hell would a mere tourist get something signed by the scribes of the Fire Court itself? The seal was a dead giveaway.

Kotetsu kept his bandaged face carefully impassive, the person before him was doing a terrible job at trying to look inconspicuous. Baggy pants and a hoodie with which she hid most of her face, though he could still see the traces of soft rose hair and her pale green eyes were as clear as day, the posture was tense, her face betrayed every kind of emotion, this person doing such a poor job at sneaking in she might as well be carrying a sign that said; 'amateur'.

They had been informed the moment she left the capital of course. She did not do a very good job at leaving quietly either...

Izumo gave her a friendly smile, "Everything seems to be in order. Enjoy our beautiful village"

"Thank you!" The young woman said, a touch too exuberantly. "I will!" And walked inside the village with a quick pace. Trying to avoid any further conversations with the ninjas.

The bandanna wearing chūnin sighed, "She's doing a terrible job at sneaking in"

"Give her a break" Kotetsu came to her defense, "The lady hasn't been trained in stealth" He then tapped the button on the radio communicator around his neck. "She's in, Hokage-sama"

" _Good job_ " Came their leader's voice through the radio.

* * *

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

* * *

"Your part is done, let the ANBU tail her from now on" Said the aged Hokage as stared through his crystal ball at the young woman in a hoodie.

"My lord" The voice of Neko at his side asked with concern, "Is this wise? With all the recent events, the exams might not be the safest place for her"

"Orochimaru has yet to show himself again, besides, she is more than capable of taking care of herself" Hiruzen leaned back on his chair, taking a drag from his pipe. "Furthermore, Akiha-sama felt she earnt this chance to indulge herself. He believes it might quell the rebellious streak she's been having lately"

"Far be it from me to go against the daimyo's wishes" Said the purple haired ANBU, "I am just concerned is all, this is all very unorthodox"

"Hmph" Hiruzen let out a short laugh, "Considering who your teacher is, I thought you would be in favor of being a bit unorthodox every now and then"

"I strive to uphold myself to the standards I developed under Kushina-sensei's tutelage" Said Neko, "That is, always do the opposite of what she would do"

The Hokage nodded in approval, "That is wise" He looked once more at the crystal ball, and saw the young woman sitting on the outdoor tables of a coffee shop. "Now, let's make sure our dear princess stays out of trouble"

* * *

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

* * *

She had done it! She had successfully sneaked into Konoha to see the exams! Great victory for Maiyuri Sasaki!

Ohhh she had been so nervous at first. But remembering her requests of going to see the Chūnin Exams being denied by her father on multiple occasions fueled her drive to act so... irresponsibly.

She wasn't going to lie, she kind of liked this sensation.

Maiyuri bit back a sigh, fiddling with a lock of her rose hair. Yuma was being a very bad influence of her, she could just imagine her giving her a thumbs up at this ridiculous plan of her.

Though the exams weren't the only reason she wanted to leave the capital. She would not be doing this if that were the case. She just... couldn't take it anymore. She was a young woman of age, she could make her own decisions, but most of her life she had lived secluded in the palace, learning the art of statesmanship and war. The only times she had glimpsed the outside world was when she trained with the monks at the Fire Temple, or whenever Yuma was in town and she would take her on one of their wild escapades.

Aside from that, all her life had been her education on politics and martial combat, nothing else.

Maiyuri loved her father, she truly did, but sometimes she felt he was not giving her the liberties she required. Like he did not trust her to keep herself safe. She wanted to go outside, see their nation for what it was, to see their people and mingle with them. Only then would she truly feel capable of one day inheriting her father's throne.

She had grown up hearing about ninja, and had even seen some in person. But those were experienced adults, now that she was in Konoha, she couldn't help but be... disturbed at how young some of them were.

Some couldn't be older than twelve...

The princess wasn't naive by any stretch. But the fact that child soldiers were more than a concept and an actual practice bothered her greatly. Children should not be plunged into life or death battles, blindly thrown into the horrors of war.

"Your mom is making ramen again? How you two have not suffered several heart attacks by now I'll never know"

"It's all in the attitude, you have to respect ramen and it will respect you"

"Do you hear yourself talk sometimes? That is not stuff normal people say"

"Then I don't wanna be normal"

"Mission accomplished…"

Her eyes glanced around and noticed a blond boy with whiskers speaking to a rosette haired girl. The Kyuubi Jinchurriki, of course she knew of their nation's 'trump card'. It made her sick that the poor boy was made into a weapon without a single choice in the matter.

His looks alone screamed Namikaze. Personally Maiyuri believed the secrecy of his heritage was a big farce, but then again, people didn't see what they didn't want to see. And any semblance of keeping his parentage a secret was gone with the return of his mother, the legendary Red Death.

To think she had been alive but in hiding all this time... At least that was the official story; Hiruzen-dono had of course informed her father who had confided in her the truth. A scroll that saved her life, truly, the prowess of the Uzumaki seal craft was unrivaled.

Just thinking about what the adults alone had to go through made her worry about the future generations of ninja. The clans had banded with the intent of stopping the cycle of conflict, but it had only expanded between villages. One step forward and two steps backwards. The history of the Elemental Nations in a nutshell.

Perhaps one day she could make things different.

 _"Sometime you have to break from your cage and spread your wings to show people you're ready."_

Maiyuri sighed as her longtime friend's words echoed in her head. Easier said than done when you're the child of the daimyo. Granted once her father caught wind of what she had done to get here there would be an enormous scolding awaiting for her back home. But until she actually saw the world for what it really was, she knew in her heart she wouldn't be a good ruler otherwise.

So she would see what Konoha had to show her. All of it, whether it was good or bad.

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* * *

Prophecies were a curious thing; this the Toad Elder Gamamaru had come to learn in his long years. His gift of foresight wasn't as clear as many would expect, sometimes he himself had trouble understanding what he was seeing.

The future was often foggy, or perhaps a better analogy would be to say that it was like turbulent waters, always moving and shifting on its multiple paths. The further you tried to look away, the more it diverged on its paths. Few oracles could tell the future with utmost certainty, often due to the gifts of the gods.

But knowing the future carried a risk, that of making it a self-fulfilled prophecy. In that way one could say the stream of time also went backwards in full circle.

The vision Gamamaru had seen long ago, that of the Child of the Prophecy that would bring peace in a tumultuous era, as time went on he uncovered more and more details. The promised time felt closer than ever, and many pieces on the board were starting to move.

Throughout the years Gamamaru had seen and heard of various individuals that could potentially be the Child. Minato had been promising, but had been cut short before his time. And that boy Jiraiya trained in Ame who had inherited the Rinnegan too had been slain according to the Sannin.

There was also Naruto to consider but... There was something that made him pause. Could it possibly be that only one person was the Child? His vision could have been symbolic; after all, more than one individual could inherit a will.

His vision lately had shown him another image, one far more clearer than the ones that came before. That of a magnificent hero who had saved the world once. The message was obvious.

The Child of the Prophecy would be someone that would inherit Rama's Will.

When darkness would be at its peak, evil at the cusp of victory and hope hung by a thread. The inheritor would only smile and fight with all their might to the bring darkness into light. To think such a will would return once more.

"All roads point to Konoha"

The Chūnin Exams, he could feel it, it was a pivotal point that would set off a chain of events.

"Fate points there" The soft feminine voice of his companion spoke, red eyes lost in thought. "Are you certain?"

"As certain as I can be, old friend" The elder spoke, leaning back on his great throne.

"Hmm, I guess it makes sense. Shishou's descendants live there after all" She replied with a small shake of her head, white hair with a touch of soft blue swaying as she did so.

"Are you planning on traveling there?"

"Only for a moment" She said as she stood up, brushing her white and red kimono. "I've much to do still" A smile graced her lips, "But it would be nice to see them" She looked at the toad elder, "Have you told your student the full truth, Gamamaru?"

"Not yet" The great toad replied. "But soon, it is time Jiraiya assumes his duties fully. So we must tell him of the past"

The woman gave a nod; "It will be a lot for him to take."

"Jiraiya can endure; he is a strong willed one."

An amused smirked crossed her lips; "And rather stubborn as well as I hear."

Gamamaru chuckled; "That he is."

Her mood soon darkened, "…Once again, war is on the horizon. And the fate of the world hangs in the balance" She took a deep breath before determination returned to her eyes. "So we must be ready. We must continue to seek allies, only then will we stand a chance"

"Those who inherit Rama's Will, will be at the center of it all Tomoe"

"Heh" A smile graced her lips. "Heroes who are driven by an impossible task, they are the ones who change the world"

She remembered such people fondly, their courage was magnificent. Though eras may pass, the flame of that spirit would never die.

"Teacher" Tomoe swore passionately, "I won't let you down"

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* * *

 **Kya's design is based on Tia Harribel from Bleach**

 **Lyn is based on Cis from Animatrix**

 **As a reminder, Kuroreimei's model is** **Yuuko Ichihara from xxxHOLIC**

 **Another Shoton chapter coming!**


	27. A series of highly random Uzumaki events

**Disclaimer:** We do not own Naruto

 **Co-Author and Beta** : Etheral-23

 **Chapter 27: A series of highly random Uzumaki events**

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 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

Some would say it was too early to start drinking, well Jiraiya was a self-proclaimed Super Pervert who openly perved on pretty women. It was obvious by this point he didn't care what people thought about him. After devoting much of his efforts to find his former-best-friend-turned-nemesis with absolutely nothing to show for, he thought about starting the day with a way to make it bearable.

Oh alcohol, the source and solution to all of life's problems.

He tilted the sake plate up as he drank the last drops, setting it down with a heavy sigh. The rays of the sun descended upon his face on rectangular patterns through the terrace roof. He idly grabbed the jug next to him on the large chair he was sitting on; shaking it slightly to feel how much sake was left in.

Good, plenty to get wasted.

Not enough to drown his frustrations sadly.

He set the jug down with a grunt. Regardless of what others thought, Jiraiya was convinced Orochimaru was still somewhere in the village, he could feel it, but that snake of his former teammate was just too slippery. He knew the village inside and out, trying to find him would be like finding a needle in a haystack.

He had ANBU patrolling through every sewer and dark corner he could find, Inuzuka trackers and Aburame literally having their bugs spy through the cracks in buildings. Yet nothing of Orochimaru was yet to appear again. The only thing Jiraiya could do at the moment was waiting and prepare.

What kind of a spymaster was he if he couldn't find an intruder in their own damn village?

He angrily filled the cup again and drank it quickly, letting out a gasp as his throat burned.

"Drowning your sorrows?" A woman's voice spoke.

Looking over the terrace, Jiraiya found that a great beauty of a woman stood before him. Skin like porcelain, she had white hair with a tint of blue that framed the sides of her face and covered a part of her forehead, while the rest was pulled up in a long ponytail. Her heart shaped face was lovely, without any blemish, and her eyes were an exotic red. The white kimono top she wore had a red and black obi that accentuated her generous bust. And those dark blue hakama pants of her did leave a good part of thighs visible.

In any other occasion, Jiraiya would be all over her and most likely getting slapped at this very moment. But right now he was a few drinks in and too pissed to consider it.

"Drowning my frustration more like it" He grumbled, giving the stranger another look over. "We haven't met, miss...?" He prompted.

"Tomoe" She introduced herself with a polite smile and a short bow. "Tomoe Gozen"

"Nice to meet ya" He nodded back, "Jiraiya of the Sannin. No last name to speak of" He poured more sake into the plate. "Care to join me?"

"Um" She looked very nervous of all sudden; "I-I'll pass" She stammered. Odd. Tomoe then cleared her throat, "I've heard much about you"

"All true, I assure you" Jiraiya bragged before pausing, "Unless it was about the bad stuff, in that case, all lies"

The red eyed woman giggled, "Gamamaru was right, you seem to be quite the character"

The Toad Sage stopped just as he was bringing the sake to his lips; he gave the woman a critical look as he set it down. "Gamamaru... You can't possibly refer to a big old toad can you?"

"He's a friend" She replied. "The toads are old allies of mine"

"Huh" Jiraiya tilted an eyebrow suspiciously, "Never mentioned you"

At that, the young woman let out a wary sigh, "I've... been away for a long time. I don't blame them for believing I was no longer among the living"

"You'll forgive me if I don't believe you right away. Can't take anyone's words at face value in this business"

"Understandable" She reached into obi and pulled out a coin, she flicked it his way and he caught it on his hand. The coin had the kanji for oil, the same one he had on his own forehead protector. It had a certain smell to it, the kind belonging to the oil you only found in their mountains. "I trust this prove I'm an ally of them, and by extension, yours"

There was only one way she could have gotten this, the toads gave it to her.

"...This ain't a social visit I gather"

"Not exactly" The woman said regretfully as she approached him, taking a seat right in front of him.

"You are a sage too aren't you?"

"Indeed" She replied with a nod, "I came here because you are a sage as well, and there are things you need to know, things the toads have deemed you ready to hear"

His mind raced, wondering at the possibilities of what she could be talking about, "I already known about the Sage of Six Paths, and the Ten Tails. The toads were very forthcoming about it"

"Yes... but have you ever wondered what came before that?" Her gaze became lost, longing even. There was pain and nostalgia in those eyes. "The world... there is something wrong with it. Things happened that were never meant to happen. I heard about your quest, how you hope to bring peace to these lands, but for that there is much you need to know Jiraiya-san. Things that were put into motion a long time ago"

He looked at her with a confused stare, pondering, trying to grasp the magnitude of what she was trying to say. Part of him didn't believe it, he was almost certain the toads would have told him whatever it was this woman wanted to share with him. But... were they right perhaps, that he hadn't been ready yet? His own status as a senjutsu master was very lackluster all things considered, he couldn't even enter sage mode without turning halfway into a toad...

Oh boy, he was about to have his world turned upside down all over again wasn't he? This was going to be like when the elders talked to him about the Sage of Six Paths...

"Great" He readied himself by drinking his cup fully; shaking his head he motioned for the woman to go on. "Have at it then, I'll listen to whatever you have to say"

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* * *

Humming a tune to herself, Kushina in a simple shirt and Anbu pants with sandals walked through the market district of Konoha with idle glances to each shop. Today being a rest from training for everyone the Uzu matriarch decided to take a gander at the market and see how much has changed in twelve years. A part of her felt relieved this area had not changed much at all, save a few new shops had cropped up.

She stopped and smirked at the sight of Kizashi and Mebuki's shop. A chuckle escaped her lips remembering fondly how Kizashi boldly claimed the Haruno mini-market will be the best in the Nation. She wondered how that dream was going.

Her decision made, she started towards the modest business before letting out a quick shriek and fell on her backside. The crowd all sharply turned to her as the redhead groaned and rubbed her sore rump. "What the he-" Her question stopped as she noticed a banana peel...

Seriously... A banana peel?

That did not just happen to her; a ninja does not slip on a banana peel... Except when she pulled the same pranks on other ninja when she was little.

Could it be-?

No, that would be ridiculous. Must have been thrown away by some dumbass that ate the fruit and didn't have the courtesy of just throwing it into a trash can. Stretching her back, the redhead continued on, choosing to ignore this had ever happened. She opened the door to see the familiar faces of the married couple who greeted her with a smile as she entered their mini-market.

"Ahhh Kushina! Welcome, welcome!" The rosette haired man waved at her behind the cashier as his wife swept the floor.

Mebuki warmly said, "So good to see you again"

"I just came by to buy some things at the best store in the village! ...But it was closed, I settled for this place"

Kizashi rolled his eyes, "Oh ha, ha. You made that joke only about a hundred times"

"Well, I gotta make up for the last twelve years" The redhead said with a grin. She walked into one of the aisles, losing sight of two behind the shelves. She skipped the medicine and bathroom items section and went straight for the fruit and vegetables at the end of the store.

Kushina knelt down and smelled the nice red apples, picking up one to check out its firmness. "Look's niIIIIH!" She dropped it the moment a worm appeared from a hole.

"What's wrong?!" Mebuki came running, finding the redhead in an awkward position and avoiding a fallen apple like the plague

"Worm!" Kushina pointed at the fruit.

Sakura's mother made a disgusted face, "Oh fantastic" She picked it up using a bag as a glove, "Hope it's the only one. Sorry about that Kushina" She spoke as she went back to the front to throw it out, leaving the Uzumaki alone again.

"Not your fault..." She sighed. Well so far this day was not going too well. But, it could only go up from here.

Perhaps choosing a dessert would cheer her up. She went over the refrigerators and opened the door, peering inside to look over the various yogurts and ice-cream boxes. Hmm, what to take, what to take...

"The new brand of strawberry yogurt is delicious ma'am" She turned to see an employee with in an apron, a man who didn't look older than thirty, common looks, shaggy dark hair, accommodating various items on the aisle next to the frosty products. "The one with the red cover"

"Oh" She spotted the dessert in question, a six-pack. They looked nice enough, maybe she would try it out tonight. "Thanks!"

"My pleasure" He smiled at her and continued his work on another aisle.

Placing the yogurts into her bag, Kushina stepped back to close the door on the fridge... only to find her hand was stuck to the handle. She blinked a couple of times as she tried letting go, but it was no use, it was as though her hand had been glued to it.

"Oh come on!" She tugged harder and harder, her frustration growing as she let out an irritated growl and pulled with all her strength... tearing the fridge's door off its hinges. "Uh oh"

Kizashi and Mebuki had run over upon the sound of tearing metal. Both froze and gawked at the sight of Kushina holding the fridge door with it no longer attached to said refrigerator; "WHAT THE HELL KUSHINA!"

"Not my fault someone put superglue on the handle!" The redhead said quickly waving her free arm childishly.

With a bit of effort Sakura's parents freed Kushina's hand as Mebuki frowned; "What happened?"

The redhead groaned as Kizashi took the glue off her hand; "That employee guy of yours said you had some good yogurt in stock. Next thing I now, I have a freaking fridge door stuck to my hand" She blinked to notice the odd looks she got from both; "What?"

"Sakura is the only employee we have." Mebuki spoke quietly

Immediately the trio went still with Kushina slowly pulling out a Kunai from her pocket. Her steps were silent as she gazed through each aisle till spotting the 'supposed employee'. Like the wind she was behind him with her kunai at his throat. "Who-"

However, before she could interrogate the man bursted into a cloud of smoke. Sakura's parents ran over "Kushina!" The Haruno matriarch called out. Turning the aisle both covered their mouths barely covering a loud snort at seeing the Uzumaki redhead covered in glitter...

Pink glitter at that, the entire front of her body was shining like a disco ball. Her eyes were closed and her expression controlled but you could see the cracks beginning to form. Kushina opened her mouth slowly and stuck out her tongue, which too was full of glitter, she spat a few times, running a hand over her tongue as to clean it.

Mebuki wasted no time in bringing the Uzumaki woman a wet towel to clean herself. First thing she did was clean her face before furiously scrubbing herself clean. "So that's how you wanna play huh? Well then, I'm game..."

"Is... everything okay?" Kizashi asked; only to receive a very dry and angry glare. "Okay, dumb question. Better one, what the hell is going on?"

"Somebody" She seethed through clenched teeth as she rubbed her clothes furiously to clean them, "is pranking me" The banana peel, the worm in the apple, the door, the human piñata with glitter, it was all very obvious to her now.

"You?" Mebuki replied incredulously, "That's an ironic twist for once"

"Ohohohoho" The Uzumaki chuckled darkly, "They have no idea what they got themselves into. They don't call me the Prankster Queen of Konoha for nothing"

Kizashi dryly spoke, "Nobody ever called you that except yourself"

"No time!" She dramatically declared with a fist pump, "I have to plan my counter-attack!" Before the married couple could say anything else, Kushina ran out to the front of the store.

She nearly stormed with her hurry, if not for noticing the bucket of water hanging on the ceiling, connected by a thin piece of rope and tied to the door. "Pfft, how dumb do you think I am?" With a flick of her wrist and a kunai flying, she cut the rope and carefully opened the door, all the while keeping an eye on the bucket just in case. When this one didn't so much as move, she allowed herself a smile as she face forward once again.

Then a creamy pie hit her in the face.

This was the sight Sakura and Ino came to just outside the shop. Both young girls were wide eyed as the older redhead wiped off her face with her hand; "Are you okay Sensei?" The pinkette meekly spoke seeing Kushina's expression being utterly blank.

Both were graced with a warm smile; "I'm fine Sakura, hello Ino. Could you two be dears and move aside?" doing as she asked she gave nod; "Thank you!" In a blink dust flew from where Kushina stood as she started running; "YOU WANT A WAR WITH AN UZUMAKI MADWOMAN YOU GOT IT! PREPARE FOR HELL!"

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* * *

Shock etched on the faces of the eternal chunin as they all heard the echoing roar of Kushina Uzumaki. Standing at the booth Saito sighed beside his son, a pouting Lyn, and indifferent Kya. "The man who dashed ahead is with us so please don't send ANBU to kill him." Saito spoke with a sigh while Kushina kept screaming throughout the village.

"Why couldn't I go with Samenosuke?!" Lyn whined in a childish manner. Her girlfriend only facepalmed with a shake of her head.

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* * *

"My, she hasn't changed a bit" The long haired redhead muttered to himself as he looked over a corner on the alley he was hiding. It had been dirty business preparing all those wonderful trap-pranks, got a bit of the stuff on his jacket and hakama pants, the bangs of hair that reached his chest had a bit of glitter in them as well but it was all worth it. "Heh, still has those big lungs"

The screams didn't feel like they belonged to a human, but a very savage animal.

Was it childish? Oh definitely, but he couldn't think of a better way to start reconnecting with Kushina. The two often played pranks on each other when they were kids back in Uzu. So doing this felt right, like going back to simpler times before the tragedy happened.

For years they had remained hidden, away from the only family they knew because they feared slipping up and alerting their enemies of their presence. It wasn't entirely blameless to act like that, more than a few times those accursed snakes had chased them across the nations. Seeking to wipe their bloodline from the face of the earth.

Then they heard Kushina died, and only then did they realize they wasted their chance.

Then Maya-chan, Soujiro's mother, died in childbirth. And Saito swore to keep his son out of danger through any means necessary. Samenosuke loved the man as a brother; he couldn't see how much this wasn't healthy for his son. He bit back a sigh; hoping coming here would do the boy good. Today was a happy occasion; they would reunite their family at last.

Hearing the news of Kushina surviving, it was the best thing he had heard in years.

Samenosuke smiled happily to himself, finding great joy in hearing Kushina rage, it meant she was still the same Kushina they knew even after all these years.

The Uzumaki woman stepped over the blanket that camouflaged itself with the ground very well, letting out a cute cry as she fell into the sinkhole he had dig up and filled.

There was a very short splash of liquid. Oh it wasn't water.

A green slimy hand rose from the whole, grasping the edge and pulling the rest of the body up. A creature covered in bright neon slime came out, like straight out of an old horror movie, the blanket had wrapped itself around her body, and it too had become drenched in the liquid. Giving the woman an unnatural appearance, as she dragged herself up, moaning unnaturally like a creature of the deep.

A few civilians heard something in the alley and soon screamed and ran in terror as an enrage Kushina walked out snarling like a beast; "Oh you're so dead." Her voice seethed as he eyes locked on a figure on the opposite side in the allies; "YOU'RE MINE!"

People gave the slime drenched woman a wide berth as she ran through them roaring like a dragon. The moment she entered the alley the figure was gone and felt a tug on her ankle. Kushina let out a yelp as the blanket hit the ground and she was now hung upside down. But that wasn't the end as a bucket of ice water fell from above her.

People covered their ears as a loud shriek nearly made their ears bleed.

Samenosuke smirked; "Oh I bet hime is a screamer in bed." he chuckled perversely. Before noticing Kushina cut herself down and hit the ground with a thump.

Slowly the Uzumaki matriarch rose as she growled covered in glitter, pie, slime, and now soaked in water.

Was it wrong for him to smile at the sight, and thanking Kushina for wearing a white shirt and seeing the impressive bosom in a lace bra? Oh who was he kidding he loved it!

He whistled before dodging several golden chains coming for him as Kushina spotted him again. The chase was on again!

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* * *

When the ANBU came to Naruto's home and told him there was a 'situation' going on, he already knew it was about his mother doing something. It was like she was driven to prove she was even more of a troublemaker than he ever was. Sneaking up on the Inuzuka kennels to play with hordes of puppies, trying to get a free meal by challenging Choji's dad to food competitions, things that would always got her an earful from the old man Hokage. Naruto was getting used to his mother's antics.

This was not a good thing.

So it was a huge surprise when they told him someone was actually playing pranks on HER (He had to sit down for that one), and she was currently on a warpath. So they required him to do 'damage control'.

When Naruto asked them why they couldn't do it, the ANBU informed him (happily he noticed) she wasn't in the ANBU anymore so she wasn't their problem, and so they could sub-contract it to the first shmuck they could find. It just so happened this shmuck was her son and as such responsible for her actions.

He was new to this whole 'being a son' thing, but he was pretty sure it was the other way around...

Naruto sighed as he was about to leave the house, "Hey Karin, can you track my mom?!" He called out to the girl who was in the other room.

"She's running through the north-east district and moving fast, you might want to hurry!"

Oh no way in hell he was chasing her alone, "Aren't you going to come with him?!"

"Chasing after the madwoman of your mother isn't how I want to spend my free day" Came the indignant reply.

He groaned, "I'll buy you okonomiyaki"

"...Fine" Karin grumbled as she walked up to him. "But you better keep-" Her eyes widened momentarily, gaze turning confused as she looked at their front door. "Who are they? They feel... familiar"

Naruto's brow furrowed, " _They?_ "

There was a knock on the door; the cousins exchanged a look before Naruto went to open it. Their eyes widened at the individuals standing outside.

Redheaded individuals.

The man in the front, who looked to be in his late thirties with various lines in his face wearing a kimono, red hair pulled on a ponytail with various strands over his forehead. At his side there was a young boy about their age with scruffy red hair, two long bangs falling at the sides of his face with two thick strands falling over the bridge of his nose, wearing a much similar kimono to the older man.

And finally a woman with a WILD red mane, a heart shaped face with blue eyes and fair skin. She dressed like a classical warrior, white clothes underneath various pieces of armor like a chest piece designed to accommodate her bust, forearm and shoulder guards, her white pants were tucked tightly into the legging pieces. She donned a very distinguished sleeveless haori that was white outside and red underneath.

The man started first, clearing his throat. "Hello, you must be Naruto right? They told me we could find you here"

"What's up kiddo?!" The woman spoke up in a spirited tone and a toothy smile.

The young boy their age gave a small bow; "It's good to meet you cousin." Karin and Naruto both froze at hearing that word.

* * *

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

* * *

Kushina landed in one of the training fields. She huffed as she glared with pure rage at the person who had been pranking the ever loving hell out of her stood in the shadows. "Just who the hell are you dattebane!"

An amused chuckle came from the figure; "Now I'm just wounded Hime. Here I thought you had guessed it by now."

The former captain lifted a brow as the figure came out of the shadows. Time itself froze as a loud gasp escaped Kushina's lips. Her rage had all but vanished as her eyes grew in size. This was a Genjutsu... It had to be! Quickly placing her hands together and generating chakra throughout her body she yelled out kai.

But nothing happened... It wasn't an illusion...

Even if he was older now, Kushina could never forget that face, that hair... Tears formed at the edge of her eyes. Her bottom lip trembled as her shoulder shook; "Samenosuke..." Her voice a horse whisper.

The roguish Uzumaki couldn't hold back his own tears as he smiled. "Hello Hime..." She moved like blur as she embraced her fellow Uzumaki who returned it in kind.

Choked sobs came the female Uzumaki; she couldn't speak as he held one of her oldest friends she thought was lost. Samenosuke was alive!

"I'm not the only one who survived." Kushina grew still as her teared filled eyes looked up at the man who tearfully grinned back.

"Kushina..."

That voice... It had aged but she knew it. Slowly detaching from Samenosuke she turned. A shudder came from her as she covered her mouth with her hand. A soft grin came from Saito as a few tears fell from his eyes.

"Niichan..." Kushina trembled as she muttered through her hand.

Saito slowly strolled forward till he stood in front of Kushina. Before he could say a word she hugged him with all her strength crying fully now. Not far behind them Lyn sighed crossing her arms under her bust. "Does not even acknowledge I'm here," She tried to sound irritated by the stray tears in her eyes belied her real feelings.

Beside her Soujiro waved his hand in front of a dumbstruck Naruto and Karin; "Are they broken?"

* * *

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

* * *

Try as he might, Naruto couldn't wrap his head about this new development. It felt like a weird dream or a very vivid fantasy.

But here they were, sitting on his living room... members of the Uzumaki clan. People his mother knew when she was a child. Her family.

Their family.

Nobody blamed Naruto and Karin for having to sit down to take it all in. A thousand questions ran through their heads, the same number of questions that were popping out of Kushina's face as she talked to the newcomers with the brightest smile on her face. She just sounded so happy, so very much overjoyed.

"I just can't believe you guys are alive" Kushina muttered in disbelief, "I thought you all had died in Uzushio"

"It got close" Their cousin (or uncle as he insisted) Samenosuke said as he stretched back on his seat, arms behind his back. "Even getting to the mainland was struggle after struggle"

Saito nodded gravely, "The four of us were all we had, we did everything we could to survive" His eyes grew melancholic and distant.

"Four?" Kushina frowned.

"Maya was with us" Her cousin said, his tone nearly impassive. Lyn and Samenosuke's looks became downcast. While Saito's son Soujiro remained quiet.

Kushina's eyes widened in realization, "Was..."

Saito let out a saddened sigh, "She's with our ancestors now. But she lives on in our hearts" He smiled at Soujiro, the boy met his gaze. "And in our son"

The boy looked much more composed than his father, his aunt and his uncle. Most likely because he never knew his mother, never experienced the pain of losing her himself, he grown up with the knowledge that his mother loved him, and that was all he needed to know.

Kushina fought back fresh tears before she wiped her eyes, Maya-Chan. Much like Saito was the voice of reason among their little group back in Uzushio. Out of all of them she was the most patient, kindhearted, and gentle among them.

And she was gone... But a part of her did remain. Kushina leaned over to Soujiro who looked back at her; "Yes?"

She said nothing as she simply looked at the boy. A lot of Saito resembled in his face. But she also saw a bit of Maya there as well. Kushina ran her hand through the boy's hair; "Call me Aunt Kushina. Glad to meet you Soujiro-Kun."

"I feel the same." The young boy gave a nod.

Leaning back Kushina dryly turned her gaze to Lyn who stared back; "Nice to see ya Lyn." Wow that was thick sarcasm in her voice.

"Missed you too dear." Okay that was equally heavy sarcasm right back.

Naruto shook his head before looking to Saito; "Where have you guys been?"

"Staying in the shadows. Did work where we could find it and made certain none of our enemies would find us." The oldest of the Uzumaki present paused; "Was not easy but we managed."

Kushina leaned her arms on her legs, "The snakes hounded you guys I imagine" She received a round nods, "Figures, the Kurokiba clan tried to kill me too plenty of times"

Naruto spoke up, "That's the snake clan that helped attack Uzushio right?" He recalled from the lessons he's been receiving, Karin nodded to him in confirmation.

Lyn snorted, "Helped? Orchestrated more like. Who do you think tipped Kumo and Iwa off that Tsukiko-baachan wasn't in the village anymore? Those damn snakes have been our enemies for centuries; they made damn sure they could take us out that time"

"But here we are!" Samenosuke smirked proudly, "They ain't ever gonna take down the clan. The whirlpool flows-"

"Ever onwards!" Kushina and the rest of their relatives sans Soujiro joined in a celebratory cheer. Saito, Samenosuke, Lyn and his mother all looked at each other with fondness and happiness, Naruto and Karin were left dumbfounded as they suddenly began to laugh. It was laughter of relief; a few tears escaped their eyes.

Naruto then understood his mother, his relatives; they were all feeling what he had felt when his mother came back. The joy in getting back something you thought lost. Except... he didn't know how much he needed his mother because he didn't have her growing up. These people were her family, something she held so dear to her heart that losing them must have been like losing a part of herself. Much like how she lost his father...

But fate smiled as often as it frowned. And here they were, together again, reunited after tragedy and decades of strife.

His mother's laughter gradually became sobs. Surprisingly it was Lyn who went over and hugged her first, soon joined by Samenosuke and Saito. Kushina wrapped her arms around them in desperation, clinging to them as if in fear that they would disappear.

Naruto and Karin smiled; even the ever serene Soujiro couldn't help but let his lips curl upwards at the sight.

"What are you kiddies doing there?" Lyn asked with a beaming grin, "Come here you"

* * *

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

* * *

"You sure they're not dead?" Lyn asked as she and the rest stood in the Hokage office after a bit of time passed at the house.

Feeling best to let the Hokage know about this surprising reunion, all the Uzumaki went together to the tower. Upon opening the door both Hiruzen and Jiraiya went stock still as they gawked at Saito, Lyn, and Samenosuke. The Sandaime and Gama Sannin had remembered them as children in Uzushio, playing with Kushina.

Both had long thought they had died in the surprise attack like the rest. But the Gods decided otherwise as the now much older trio stood at the Hokage's desk.

"I'm must still be drunk." Jiraiya muttered as he stood by the window.

"Y-You all survived," Hiruzen's voice like a whisper as he stared at each one of them.

Samenosuke gave a toothy grin and thumbs up; "Yup!"

"It has been a long time Sandaime-dono, Jiraiya-sama." Saito gave a small bow.

"...Yeah, no" The Toad Sage spoke with completely dead tone. "Not today, I just can't handle any of this crap anymore"

The other occupants in the room gave him an odd look. "Is something wrong Jiraiya?" His teacher asked him.

The Sannin gave him a strange look, as though he was barely holding back a freak out the likes of this village had never seen before. "Nope" He simply replied before taking a jug of sake from his clothes and began drinking the whole thing.

Well, it was clear Jiraiya was dealing with his own issues at the moments, so they weren't going to press. The Hokage let a bright smile form on his lips as he looked at the gathering of redheads. "My word, you have no idea how good it is to see you here"

"Preaching to the choir here" Kushina smirked.

"We thought nobody had survived" Hiruzen gravely said, "I had my ninja scour every single part of whatever was left of Uzu"

"And I had my contacts checking everywhere," Jiraiya said as he put down his jug, "But it was no use, too much chaos and confusion at the time. But now I see it's clear none of you wanted to be found"

"Exactly," Lyn chirped leaning against the wall with her arms crossed; "The Kurokiba had been hunting survivors since Uzushio fell."

Hiruzen's eyes hardened before giving a nod; "I understand." The Kurokiba were relentless, it was no wonder any Uzumaki who had survived remained hidden; "So why risk coming here?"

"We made the mistake of not being here when we knew Kushina was in Konoha. When we thought she had died we realized our mistake in being too fearful." Saito spoke with some shame in his voice; "Perhaps we could have prevented and killed that masked man." Kushina had filled them all in on what happened to her and about Naruto twelve years ago before coming here. To think there was someone responsible for that terrible day…

Saying they were angry were not sufficient enough words. But that man will get his comeuppances sooner or later.

"Or you all would have been killed like so many others when the Kyuubi rampaged;" The Hokage muttered as he shook his head; "We cannot change the past lad."

"Which is why we came when hearing our Hime was back," Samenosuke said in a rare moment of seriousness. "We had to come here. To be with our family."

It warmed his old heart to see these people reunited at long last. Already the gods had been kind to give Naruto his mother back, but now they were paying him back in full, and for that he could not be more grateful. The smile on the boy's face was one he treasured as much as Konohamaru's.

But the Hokage part of his brain reminded him it wasn't so simple, there were technicalities to address. "So, you will live in Konoha then?"

"If you'll have us" Saito respectfully replied.

As if they even had to ask, "I can grant you asylum as Konoha's old allies" He searched through his drawers for the right paperwork. "Now, I do believe you won't be joining the shinobi forces"

"No offense" Lyn scratched the back of her neck in a fashion that was all too similar to Kushina and Naruto's. "But it doesn't really feel right for us. Konoha is our friend, and we will help you if you need it. But right now fighting your enemies is not high on our list, even if some of them are our enemies as well"

"Understandable"

Jiraiya snorted, "The Council ain't gonna like that. I can already see what Homura and Koharu will say"

Hiruzen replied in a very business-like fashion, "The clans don't have every single member join the corps either; this can be considered a very similar situation. And if anyone feels that joining our forces would be fair compensation for us granting them asylum, I will more than happy to remind them of all the Uzumaki clan has done for us"

A predatory smirk grew on Lyn's lips; "If they still want to gripe just send them my way. Will gladly explain to them why Uzumaki are the last people in the world you don't mess with."

"As entertaining as it sounds," Hiruzen starting to work on the paper he needed; "It won't be necessary."

Cleaning her glasses Karin paused; "The house wouldn't have enough room for you guys."

Samenosuke waved it off; "Oh we're fine at any hotel."

"Oh hell no," Kushina said sternly with her hands on her hips; "Family stays with family."

Lyn dryly squinted much like Naruto; "Are we taking turns on the couch at night while the rest sleep on the floor? And I'm not sharing a bed with you Kushi; I have a girlfriend thank you."

"I'll gladly share a bed with Hime." Samenosuke brightly smiled lifting his hand.

"Of course you would." Every adult in the room droned as Hiruzen and Jiraiya remembered the roguish Uzumaki's antics back in Uzushio. Already a very… energetic young boy when who appeared to have matured early, his attitude seemed to have amplified through the years. Or did they reach Jiraiya levels? The Sandaime was afraid to know in all honesty.

"You can work on house arrangements later. I'll have some rooms ready for all of you in the meantime." The Hokage spoke up finalizing the papers.

Lyn perked up; "Oh add my girlfriend to my room please."

"Where is this 'girlfriend' you keep mentioning, and why haven't we met her yet?" Kushina asked before leaning over Samenosuke, "Is she imaginary, can only Lyn see her?"

"Oh very funny" The wild maned Uzumaki rolled her eyes. "Her name is Kya; she doesn't like crowds so the moment we arrived she went over to that eyesore you call the Hokage Monument" She ignored the indignant 'hey' from the current Hokage, "And there is something else you really need to know..." She clicked her tongue, looking at Naruto awkwardly, "she's a Namikaze"

One could hear a pin drop in the room. In fact, Hiruzen's pen did fall from his suddenly limp fingers.

Jiraiya looked at the jug in his hands for a moment before throwing out the window.

"...Say what now?" Naruto intelligently replied with a tilt of his head.

"Oh, merciful gods you really aren't pulling any punches today" Hiruzen muttered as he massaged his temples.

"You met someone of Minato's clan?" Kushina asked incredulously.

"Yeah, long story. Funny too actually, you see-"

The sound of their conversation was drowned out as Naruto's mind raced at the revelation. Someone from his father's clan... here, in the village, on the same day more of his family arrived to be with them.

He made a mental note to stop by the local temple and leave an offering in thanks.

To everyone's surprise, he suddenly bolted out of the room through a window.

"Wait, kid!" Lyn called out to him, running to the open window and stopping just at the edge as the boy disappeared from sight. "You need to know that Kya isn't what you expect!" She let out a groan, throwing her head back. "I don't think he heard me"

"What's wrong?" Kushina turned her gaze between Saito and Lyn.

Saito sighed before patting his son's head; "It's a long story."

* * *

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

* * *

The wind kept an even breeze to Kya's liking as she sat in meditation on one of the heads of the Hokage Monument as Saito had explained before coming here. Not exactly the most well sculpted pieces of art. But they were made as a measure of respect, and the Buxom Namikaze preferred up there than being in the crowd down in the village.

Despite the noise of the people down below there was an air of tranquility here, if there was anything to take away from this place it was that. Kya remained sitting with her eyes closed as they barely twitched.

Looks like Lyn got around telling that boy about her.

Naruto stood a good foot from the older Namikaze who seemed to not to react to him. Another Namikaze, he never thought he'd actually meet one by the tales his mom told about them. But here on sat on his father's head no less with the wind rustling her blond hair.

For what felt like eternity there was nothing but silence between them before Kya let out a sigh and opened her eyes. Her gaze turn up to Naruto as she took in his features; "You look Namikaze."

"I-I..." Kya lifted a brow as the boy meekly stammered; "Dad never left anything about the Namikaze. Mom said his parent didn't either."

"...Sounds about right. Namikaze are not the materialistic type given our nomadic nature. Yes we have scrolls of our history and works, but not a lot of them." She spoke in a calm if not bored monotone.

Naruto sat down in front of her as he took in her words. "Well least that explains a bit." He was about to speak again before Kya raised her hand.

"I already figured you had questions."

The young boy nodded excited, "Damn right I do" And gave her a wide smile, "I'm Naruto"

"My name is Kya" She cordially replied with a nod of her head. "As I understand, you are currently busy with your training for these exams. Once your schedule finds itself more open, I shall teach you what you need to know about our clan"

"Oh" Naruto was taken aback by her direct attitude. It sounded like she wasn't even invested in what she was saying. "Cool" He replied awkwardly.

"I'm glad we had this conversation" She said before resuming her meditation.

...That was it? She didn't even sound remotely interested in getting to know him.

"Don't you wanna... hang out or something?" He prompted, trying to get any kind of reaction out of the mocha skinned woman.

"That is unnecessary" She curtly said.

"Hey don't be like that" Naruto couldn't stop the disappointment in his voice from becoming evident. "Don't you want to get to know each other? We're probably gonna be the only other Namikaze we'll ever meet"

"Here I thought you would have your fill of socialization with your redheaded kin" Kya said, her tone uninterested. "My obligations to you are due to a responsibility to our clan. I would very much like to complete them so I can go back to my own training; personally I find that spending time with other people distracts me from my real calling"

The whiskered boy grunted in irritation, "And yet, you have a girlfriend"

For the first time since they began their conversation, Naruto saw a hint of emotion in Kya. Her eyes twitching momentarily, her gaze growing lost with something he couldn't properly describe.

"The... events of how we found in each other's company are" She gave him a hard stare, "private"

The younger blond winced at the slightest hint of anger in the older blond's tone. He realized he overstepped, though couldn't help it knowing a Namikaze was here. But by their brief words it was clear to him.

She had very little to no interest in getting to know each other. Numbly Naruto got his feet; "I'm sorry."

Kya only shrugged as the boy vanished via shunshin. "Namikaze find their own way Naruto. You'll figure that out on your own."

* * *

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

* * *

Well that had been… disappointing. After the amazingly warm reunion he had with his relatives, Naruto expected it to go the same way with a relative from his Namikaze side. But Kya was just so… cold. Uncaring even. Like meeting him was not something that warranted her attention and was only acting out of obligation.

It stung, really. Was it him; was he not what she was expecting? She certainly wasn't what he expected

He comforted himself when he arrived back at the house, knowing he had a much larger family awaiting for him. One he couldn't wait to get to know better.

He arrived to see they were making themselves comfortable, Lyn had dressed out of her armor and instead was wearing a set of short shorts with a tank top and sandals, lazily lying on the couch.

"Heeeey kiddo!" Lyn was the polar opposite of her girlfriend, bright, cheerful and very much approachable. Though that did not extend to his mother as Naruto was finding out. "Met Kya I take it"

"She's… yeesh"

"Heh, yeah. She was the same with me when I first met her"

"How the hell did you two end up together?"

Lyn seemed to ponder for a moment, "Beats the hell out of me" Naruto grunted as he sat in the adjacent chair. "Oh don't worry honey; I'm sure Kya will warm up to you eventually. Just… give her some time okay? She's got her own stuff going through"

"Like what?"

Lyn's lips pressed together, her eyes gained a hard edge to them. Naruto saw how anger and sadness quickly passed through them before she let out a heavy sigh. "It ain't my place to say, that's up to her"

Well, this was gonna be a challenge. But Naruto lived for challenges. "Now!" Lyn's mood did a full turn as she hopped out of the couch, "We're planning a big party today! Let's go help your mom, if the stuff about her food I hear is right, she'll need all the help she can get!" She shouted the last part, earning a furious growl coming from the kitchen.

* * *

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

* * *

"Umm, shouldn't this be more a private thing Kushina-sensei?" Sakura asked before being handed a large plate with cooked food.

Kushina only scoffed while she cooked at the stove with Karin. "You're a part of Naruto's team and that makes you family as far as I'm concerned."

The question from the rosette was due to the current situation of a large feast being prepared as news spread like wildfire throughout the village of more Uzumaki having shown up! Said new Uzumaki were at the dining table setting up the plates. The pinkette barely knew what was going on before Kushina-sensei showed up and grabbed her with Sasuke being wrapped in the older redhead's chakra chains.

Currently the said Uchiha mildly glared in his seat at a smirking Naruto and eye-smiling Kakashi; "You should have known arguing with Kushina-sama was impossible Sasuke."

Standing on the kitchen table Ty Lee looked in wonder at the food being made; "So this is human cooking."

Hien and Yasu floated beside her with Gamakichi sniffing the air; "I heard Uzumaki love ramen but come on." The young Toad muttered.

"Hey don't you go dissing ramen, toady" The wild maned Lyn threatened with her chopsticks; "or I'll make soup out of ya"

Never in a hundred years did Sakura think they would meet even more Uzumaki, actual survivors of Uzu to be exact. Then again, Naruto's mother narrowing cheating death as she did; perhaps it'd be best for her to keep an open mind to such possibility. Positivism wasn't an unrewarding trait sometimes.

And good gods, when karma paid you back, it paid back with interest. She thought that perhaps that Naruto had emptied all the good karma accumulated when his mother returned and he had to start over, well there went fate showing her she was very wrong.

Seeing him smile so much... it made her smile as well. Even Sasuke, always some composed, and despite the hints of envy she could see in his eyes, respected Naruto enough to be happy for him. In his own stoic way at least. Kushina-dono was always looking out for him, and she liked to think it was that maternal care she was sharing with the Uchiha that was allowing him to move on and feel something other than hatred.

Heh, this family of loudmouths really did have a positive influence on people.

Then there was a knock on the door, "I'll get it!" Lyn bolted up from her seat and went to open it; they all heard a large cheer. "You came!"

"...I need to eat" Another woman's voice said in defeat.

Lyn came back to the room with the largest smile on her face, tugging at the hand of a what had to be one of the most beautiful women Sakura had ever seen. Flawless mocha skin, messy blonde hair and sapphire blue eyes, plus a figure Sakura would kill for.

Right, the Namikaze woman she heard about... As if the universe hadn't thrown enough curves already.

She sat next to her, momentarily passing an impassive glance at Naruto. The blonde boy actually frowned at her for a moment before smiling widely; Kya just looked at the food being served on the table. Well, it looked like that cheerfulness wasn't shared by their side of the family. She barely even reacted when Lyn planted a big kiss on her cheek, but there was no hiding that soft blush.

"Ahhhh, nothing like family dinner!" Samenosuke, who had already began establishing a reputation around the village as a shameless womanizer (okay not exactly a womanizer as not even men were safe from him) declared with large toothy smile they had seen plenty of times in Naruto. "Ain't that right Soujiro?" He prompted the young shaggy haired boy with a nudge from his shoulder.

"Yes" He replied with a small smile.

Karin shared an awkward look with Naruto. Soujiro seemed to take a lot from his father, being the odd calmed and composed type of Uzumaki. But the boy was just so... passive. Sometimes you could barely tell he showed any interest in anything.

Well... They could probably help him with that. Maybe he didn't have kid his age to be around. That was likely to with it, and thankfully they knew quite a few their age to help remedy that.

Hien floated over to Naruto's shoulder; "Dragon Chief will be most excited to hear this news"

"No kidding," Yasu chuckled as he tried sweets with Gamakichi.

Ty Lee happily chowed down on a large bowl of cooked meat; "You're the most bestest humans ever!" Least that is what everyone thought she said with food in her mouth.

The mood was lively as everyone ate and chatted in a upbeat tone save Kya, Saito, and Soujiro who were more composed while eating.

Kushina only smiled as she watched her son snickering at his dragon partner who ate his own bowl of food and tried using chopsticks.

Absently her mind wandered to the past, remembering those who weren't with them. And a pang in her heart in knowing some was gone forever.

* * *

XxX ~ many years ago ~ XxX

* * *

 _The great flower garden was a location many of the children of Uzushio frequented with great excitement, and one of their favorite playing spots. It wasn't the flowers that drew them, though many felt they were very pretty to look at, or that there was something remarkable about that place to their young impressionable minds._

 _No, the reason the garden was so much visited was due to its caretaker, a person the children treasures immensely. Immaculate sharp features that gave her an air of aristocracy and experience. Fierce red hair pulled back and held by a hair piece, letting it hang low while a few long fangs framed her face that was bereft of any blemish. Green eyes set in perpetual serenity; to the observer they would notice the heavy burden of experience in a very, very long life. Tsukiko Uzumaki had gone through most people knew; that was the general consensus._

 _But such things went unnoticed by the children._

 _"Baachaaaan~!" Kushina cried out from her spot, her arms holding unto Tsukiko's head as she sat on her shoulders. "Hurry uuuuuup!" Too long had they been waiting for her to be free of whatever clan business she had been dealing with._

 _"Patience is virtue, Kushina" Her infinitely patient voice replied._

 _"But we're bored!" Samenosuke groaned, his form swaying back and forth with the motion of Tsukiko's left leg, which he held unto firmly._

 _"You were gonna show us the spirits!" Lyn exclaimed, swinging from the other leg. "Come on, we wanna see fairies!"_

 _"Guuuys, you're being rude to baachan" Maya, always the little voice of reason, came to defend their elder. Unlike the three, she was actually walking alongside Tsukiko, holding her right hand tightly, while a sighing Saito held her left._

 _"But we wanna play with the pretty lights!" Kushina couldn't be swayed. "Right Kosuke!" She turned to the last member of their group with a beaming smile, expecting him to join their side._

 _Poor Kosuke was too shy to say anything, the short boy with a bowl cut merely clinged to Tsukiko's skirt._

 _"The spirits are not going anywhere" Tsukiko wisely spoke._

 _It would always be the children who saw the gentle side the ancient and ageless Uzumaki. Her patience infinite when compared to her dealings with any adults. In Uzushio she had been the unspoken mother figure to many children of the clan. And it was a job she took with utter pride and a gentle smile that conveyed the pure joy she got from it._

 _Finding her usual stone bench she took a seat as the children looked at her in anticipation. Tsukiko chuckled at their faces before putting her lips together and releasing a soft rhythmic whistle. The tone was soothing, calm, it made Kushina, Samenosuke, and Lyn close their eyes and sway to it._

 _Soon small orbs of light chimed and rose from the garden which made all the children gasp in awe. Within the faint light were tiny humanoid figures with buzzing wings. They soon flew in a playful manner around the children who soon dispersed following them. Only Kosuke remained holding Tsukiko's skirt tightly, as if trying to hide himself._

 _"There is nothing to fear Kosuke," the ancient Uzumaki spoke gently placing her hand on the boy's head as he looked up; "Fairies will never harm you. They can be playful and dear friends and amazing helpers."_

 _"I heard they can look scary to hurt people..." He mumbled._

 _"Yokai come in many shapes and forms" She rubbed his hair as he gave the little boy motherly smile, "The yōsei, the fairies, are no exception. Look" She beckoned one of the spots of light to come forth, she held the spirit in the palm of her palm, "They are of the lesser kind, so their form is more intoned with the minds of mortals. So long as you are gentle to them, so they will be with you"_

 _The spot of light morphed into a long serpentine form with butterfly-like wings, the small dragon spirit peered at the young boy curiously, and who slowly loosed his hesitation to gaze upon the creature with fascination. It touched its glowing snout with the tip of his nose, making him giggle at the tingling sensation. He reached out with his hand to touch it, only for the fairy to playfully slip away from his grasp._

 _He tried once more, actually letting go of Tsukiko's skirt to chase it. Soon little Kosuke joined the others in their fun, laughing the day away with naught a worry in his mind. As children always should, Tsukiko often said._

 _"Come back here you!" One of the more humanoid lights made sound that was much like a raspberry at the clan princess. Kushina let out a growl as pounced upon the spirit. Her predatory looks changed to one of surprise and fear as she found herself on collision course with Tsukiko-baachan._

 _The Uzumaki elder impassively caught the flying child and deftly placed her on her lap._

 _Kushina blinked a few times at what had transpired before pouting and glaring at the spirit who just made a laughing sound and flew away to join the others._

 _"How come they listen to you?" Kushina grumbled, crossing her little arms "Is it because you're a sage?"_

 _Tsukiko let out a short laugh, "Were it so simple, my little whirlpool. You only need to know how to handle them" She gave the child a teasing grin, "Much like one must deal with impish little creatures like you. I heard you pulled another prank today"_

 _Kushina only smiled with pride; "Mr. Blacksmith's face was so funny!"_

 _At the child's declaration the elder Uzumaki only rolled her eyes. Placing the girl down with a sigh she resumed playing with the others._

 _They played so much that they fell asleep right there on the garden_

* * *

XxX ~ Present ~ XxX

* * *

One would look back on those innocent days with happiness and nostalgia, and the wisdom acquired through the years allowed them to see more than they could back then.

"Baachan was really a wise woman" Kushina muttered.

Now they could see a deeper meaning to nearly everything she said. Many times it wasn't even hidden, she always said things as they were, but they just didn't understand it at the time. When she was gone, the clan had lost a very valuable member. A teacher, a mother figure, a protector. She had been so many things to many of them.

To those of the younger generation of Uzumaki like Naruto, Karin and Soujiro, they could only lament they never got to know her.

"I believe Tsukiko-sama would want us to carry on our legacy" Saito muttered, his voice heavy. "The clan lives on, and... I want to believe it will rise again"

"It will rise again," Lyn spoke with utter resolution with a smirk on her lips.

Kya said nothing as she kept eating quietly.

A knock on the door made all of them perk up with Sasuke speaking up; "Anyone else was coming?"

Kushina smiled as she got from the table and to the door. "Took long enough Yugao-chan." The former captain placed her hands on her hips as she opening the door.

A sheepish Yugao, in civilian clothes chuckled beside her boyfriend Hayate Gekkō who remained in his shinobi gear; "Got stuck at ANBU HQ, sorry sensei."

The redhead waved it off before shifting her gaze to Hayate who respectfully bowed; "Kushina-dono."

"Nice to finally meet you." The man lightly coughed, seriously what did this guy have? "Well come in."

"And who are these two?" Lyn asked playfully.

Bringing the two into the kitchen Kushina smiled; "This is my student Yugao Uzuki and her boyfriend..." She paused remembering thinking for a moment; "AH! Hayate Gekkō." Yugao dryly glared at her teacher, well she remembered at least.

"It's -cough- a pleasure" The proctor of the exams greeted, trying and failing to stop his coughing from getting in the middle.

"Really?" The wild maned Uzumaki drone, "Oh honey, you could do so much better"

"Excuse me?" Yugao glared at the woman. "Relative of sensei or not, I will not let you insult my boyfriend"

"Only I can do that" Kushina added.

"I was talking to him" Lyn clarified, growing a smug grin at the look on their faces. "Dating a student of Kushina? Oh woo to the poor bastard"

"YOU WANNA GO?!" Kushina shot up, spreading her arms as if to say 'come at me, bitch'. "COME ON, I'LL KICK YOUR ASS!"

Lyn rose up to the challenge, "YOU AIN'T GO SHIT ON ME, PRINCESS!"

The two pounced at each other and began rolling on the ground, furniture and decorations falling as their fight escalated around the house.

"Um" Sakura mumbled in a frightened tone, "Isn't anyone gonna stop them?"

Kakashi didn't even look up from his now open book as she replied, "You want to get in the middle of that, be my guest" His pinkette student pondered for a moment, before conceding it probably wasn't worth her life.

Naruto had a clear moment of realization, "So, this is life now"

Karin leaned over to bury her head in Naruto's shoulder; "We're living in a madhouse."

"Yup..." He gave his cousin a half-hug

Soujiro only gave a blank look; "You get used to it."

* * *

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

* * *

Finally after Kushina and Lyn were separated by Saito, Yugao, and Kya. The group settled down in the living room after eating talking amongst themselves. Ty Lee laid on Karin's lap purring loudly as the redhead petted her while Yasu rested on her shoulder.

Gamakichi sat on Naruto's head with Hien floating around them as the blond spoke to Soujiro with the others getting to know him. The Jinchuuriki tried not to judge, particularly a relative he just met but... oh boy, was Soujiro extremely passive. Naruto was pretty certain Soujiro couldn't speak more than words in a single sentence. Any questions he himself made were all related with training in some fashion.

Geez, only now did he start to realize that Soujiro hadn't had a proper upbringing. Spending all his life hiding, putting all his efforts into training and surviving, he barely had time to just have fun.

Well, starting tomorrow after training, Naruto determined himself to show him just how many awesome things there were to do in the village. Like pranking people, that never got old.

A sudden knock on the door brought silence to the otherwise lively house, his mother went to open it, and revealed Jiraiya standing on the other side.

"Well, now you show up" Kushina reprimanded him, placing her arms akimbo.

"Sorry about that" The old perv apologized. "I was... busy. There's somebody who wants to meet you" He nodded at some unseen figure next to him, and he stepped aside to let her through.

She was pretty, Naruto had to say, beautiful face and eyes, cool white hair with a touch of soft blue, great figure accentuated by a beautiful kimono held by an obi. But he couldn't help but wonder who this stranger was. The young woman looked at Kushina with something akin to longing, nostalgia and regret all mixed up into one, but there was also joy. Her eyes went over every redhead in the room (and him), taking in their sights and committing them to memory.

"Um, hello" She nervously started, "My name is Tomoe Gozen. I... am a friend of the dragon clan"

"Oh" Kushina blinked in surprise as many of their guests looked among themselves in confusion. "Nice to meet you then, I'm Kushina, and this is my family!" She happily waved her arm at the others, who simply waved at the white haired woman. "Except her" She deadpanned while pointing at Lyn, "She's just some hobo we took in out of pity"

"Fuck you!"

Kya put a hand on her girlfriend's shoulder before another brawl would ensue.

"Well hello there~" Samenosuke was up on his feet and in the blink of an eye stood before Tomoe, who eyed him curiously, "My name is Samenosuke, and might I say you are sight casted by the gods themselves" He put on his most winning smile, while everyone else rolled their eyes.

He thought he got lucky when she smiled back, "I'm not interested" Only for his hopes to crash and burn.

Samenosuke stood there frozen for a second before sighing and going back to his spot, "Swing and miss..."

"This happens to you often I take it?" Karin dryly asked.

"At least there wasn't any slapping this time"

"Before my clan scares you away" Kushina quickly brought things back on track, "Would you like to come in?" She politely asked, acting as a proper host.

"I'd like to but, I'm afraid I'm busy. I had other business to attend to, and there are more to be done before the night is even over" She said, though not tiredly nor resigned. "I just... wanted to meet you, if only for a moment. I wanted to see Shishou's descendants, know that her clan was alright"

Multiple eyes gazed at her in confusion, "What do you mean?" Lyn asked. "Who's your teacher? You know someone from our clan?"

"Indeed" The red eyed woman smiled fondly, "You all know her, my teacher is Tsukiko Uzumaki after all"

It was like someone had dumped a bucket of cold water on them.

"...What?" Kushina muttered in disbelief, shaking her head and pinching the bridge of her nose. "Wait, wait, and wait. That... doesn't really add up. For baachan to be your teacher, and how old you look…" Tsukiko-baachan would have to had taught this young woman when she was but a toddler.

"Either you are lying" Saito said in accusation, eyes narrowing at her. "Or you are not telling us the whole truth"

"I am neither lying, nor am I being completely honest with all of you" The white haired woman admitted. "But know I value shishou immensely, she's very dear to my heart"

"She never mentioned you..." Samenosuke muttered.

Tomoe shook her head, "I imagine there was much she didn't tell you. And I wish I could clear everything up, but right now is not the time. If you ever need anything, just ask the toads or the dragons for me" She pulled out a circular tile piece from her obi, and handed it to Jiraiya. She looked straight into his eyes as she grasped his hand and she placed the item on it. "Remember our talk and be ready, we must soon begin to act"

The Sannin gravely nodded, "I understand"

The onlookers could only watch in confusion.

Tomoe gave Kushina one last smile, "It was nice meeting you, I warms my heart knowing the Uzumaki clan will carry on" She let out a short melancholic laugh, "You're all so stubborn... but that's part of your charm" She lifted her fingers in a half seal, "We shall meet again"

Her entire form became ablaze, they had to shield their eyes from the sudden glare even as she disappeared amidst the flames that quickly died down, leaving not even a scorch mark on the floor.

For a moment, nobody said anything. Jiraiya stared intently at the item in his hand, a tile with a flower painted on. A lotus flower.

"Who was she?" Kushina finally asked him. "How did she know baachan, what the hell is going on?!"

"...You wouldn't believe me if I told you"

The night's mood changed from one of merriment to confusion, if only momentarily. More questions than answers were raised, and it was clear neither Jiraiya nor this Tomoe woman was saying anything at the moment.

Naruto didn't know what was going on, or what Jiraiya had gotten himself into. He just got the feeling the exams wouldn't be the only interesting event he'd and the others would go through.

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

 _ **"Tomoe Gozen is based on the character of the same name in Fate/Grand Order.**_

 _ **As a reminder, Maiyuri Sasaki, princess of the Land of Fire, is based after Okita Souji from the same franchise.**_

 _ **Kya Namikaze is based from Tia Harribel from Bleach.**_

 _ **Saito is based on Hajjme Saito from Rurouni Kenshin**_

 _ **And Lyn is based on Cis from the Animatrix movie shorts."**_

 **For those who wish to be in the know:**

 **Next:** Dragon Age Origins: Dovahkiin 'Two Chapters'

 **Then back to:** Naruto: Shoton of Konoha 'Two Chapters'

Anbu Sennin: A Final Fantasy VII Story will be made in-between.

C-ya on the flip side!


	28. Uzumaki family bonding

**Disclaimer** : We do not own Naruto

 **Co-author and Beta** : Etheral-23

 **Friendly reminder to readers** : This story will have OC's and will barely follow the cannon after the Tsunade Arc. This will be a vast world expanding story with numerous chapters. Hope you enjoy!

 **Tribute** : For Joachim...

 **Chapter 28: Uzumaki family bonding**

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 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

It was a quiet morning in Konoha.

"What do you mean you can't tell us?!"

Scratch that, it was never a quiet anything in Konoha, not when there were Uzumaki around.

Currently all four adults of the clan of red heads were sitting around the breakfast table, the events of last night had left a rather strong impression.

That woman, Tomoe Gozen, appearing out of nowhere and telling them she was Tsukiko's apprentice and not even staying to tell them all in detail what kind of history she had with her or the dragons in general did not sit well with them. And apparently she now had some sort of connection with Jiraiya, but the toad sage was keeping his lips shut about the whole matter.

But the Uzumaki would not settle for it, they demanded answers even if the Sannin refused to give them.

Jiraiya shook his head and he leant back on his chair, "Exactly what I meant"

"You're being very unreasonable here" Kushina crossed her arms in exasperation, sitting on the opposite end of the table. At her right was Saito, who as always managed to remain calm and composed. Samenosuke at her left was leaning with an arm slugged behind the chair, his high ponytail dangling as he balanced himself on just two legs of the chair. Lyn was next to him, arms folded in front of her resting over the table, looking just as annoyed as Kushina did. "Why aren't you telling us anything?"

"She said she didn't want to overwhelm you, not when you just found each other again. She'll come clean once she feels you're ready"

"What kind of stuff did she tell you?" Lyn asked with a shrug of her shoulders, finding it very difficult to believe they wouldn't be able to grasp whatever it is this Tomoe woman told the white haired man. Tomoe said she knew Tsukiko-baachan; they had the right to know more about her.

"You said she's a sage like you" Saito remarked, "So was Tsukiko-baachan, does it have anything to do with it?"

Jiraiya's gaze became a thousand yard stare, taking the others aback. Kushina had seen it before, in people who had seen too much, or knew things they weren't prepared to know. The smarmy perverted sage just looked so... shaken, which disturbed the Red Death. As though Jiraiya himself was still trying to come to terms with whatever it was Tomoe said.

"No" He muttered before clearing his throat. "I can't tell you. Not right now, not with the exams are going on and you have to train with the kids"

Kushina looked rather disgruntled by those words along with Lyn; "Fine, after the exam we're having a talk. We have a right to know who the hell she is and her connection to Tsukiko-Baachan."

The old perv gave a nod; "You got it Red."

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

Naruto wasn't fully sure if he was actually awake this morning. Mainly due to the fact he had suggested a training session of just him, Sakura, and Sasuke at their team's grounds. And it was Sasuke; yes Sasuke who thought it was actually a good idea!? Honestly both Naruto and Sakura half wondered if the sky would be falling next.

Still, as the sun shined in the skies above the genin of team 7 as they sparred together. With an extra hand from both Karin and Soujiro. Currently the last loyal Uchiha was sparring against perhaps the quietest Uzumaki he had ever met while Karin and Sakura were taking on Naruto and a few of his shadow clones.

Without his Sharingan active, his opponent was rather hard to read. Soujiro's style seemed to be a reflection of his attitude. Leave no openings and don't let anyone know what you're thinking. His attire consisted of dark hakama pants and sandals, along with a beige shirt tucked into his pants. The Uchiha's sharp gaze followed Soujiro's movement; his arms blocked and parried away the swift punches coming from the shaggy haired boy.

With each step he pushed Sasuke back, his right leg shot up in a high kick which force the Uchiha to cover his face with both arms, leaving his midsection open for Soujiro to deliver a second kick which knocked Sasuke back further.

The Uchiha grunted, gaze hardening as his black eyes flashed red, two tomoe spinning in each eye. He dashed forward with a dash of speed, delivering a flurry of punches that took the quiet boy by surprise, eliciting a soft gasp. Switching on the defensive he managed to keep up with Sasuke's attack, but this one was seeing through his movements. Quite literally as Sasuke's Sharingan allowed him to spot an opening.

A swift kick to Soujiro's left leg broke his balance. Allowing Sasuke to seize the opportunity by hooking his own leg with his and pushing him down to the ground, his forearm pressing against his neck.

"I win" The Uchiha said confidently.

No sooner than Sasuke was having declared his victory, Soujiro's left hand shot up, delivering a strong chop to Sasuke's side. The Uchiha grunted in pain as he felt the spread through his midsection, momentarily weakening his hold on his opponent. Soujiro took advantage of this kicked Sasuke away.

The Uzumaki lad massaged his neck as he slowly stood up. While Sasuke sat up, holding his stomach. Their gazes met, Soujiro's soft gaze held a touch of respect, while acknowledgement shined in Sasuke's eyes.

"...Good match" The Uchiha finally said. "Next we'll use jutsu as well"

"Agreed" The redheaded boy curtly replied.

Hmm, Sasuke was actually finding himself tolerating and, dare he say it, appreciating the presence of this Uzumaki. He just... spoke so little. After days in the presence of that maniac of a woman that was Naruto's mother, it was simply such a relief.

Both froze as the ground beneath them quaked. Glancing to their side they saw Sakura had slammed the back off her heel into the ground cracking and uplifting sections of earth in the area she was facing some shadow clones.

"Yeesh Sakura-chan, you trying to kill us?!" A clone yelled out which made the others hide behind him.

At that the rosette deadpanned; "You're chakra constructs who vanish at one hit."

Another clone pressed his hand to his chest; "Sakura-chan is so cold and heartless this morning."

Sakura only rolled her eyes at the Shadow clones antics. Not far from them Karin paled as she was sparring against the actual Naruto who shivered at his teammate's display of strength. "She is literally a mini-Tsunade Senju," the glasses wearing Uzumaki muttered with slight terror.

"Try taking one of her punches..." Naruto muttered, "She's like a human wrecking ball"

Sakura's eye twitched. "Naruto, order your clones to stop being wusses" She ignored their indignant cries. "And actually fight me"

"Sorry, can't force them to do stuff I myself wouldn't do"

She raised an unimpressed eyebrow, "You're saying you wouldn't fight me?"

"Well" One of the clones sheepishly says, "You're pretty terrifying lately"

Sakura let out a frustrated growl, "Okay, if that's how you guys wanna be" She cracked her neck, "Then I'm not wasting my time anymore" She took a stance, and the clones took a collective gulp.

"Gentlemen, it has been an honor" Of the clones said, resigned to his fate.

A powerful kick sundered the earth further, so strong it made a chunk of rock fly upward directly in front of her. "Shannaro!" Her fist collided with the rock, obliterating it into hundreds of smaller pieces that flew at great speed in the direction of the clones.

The clones were destroyed, annihilated under the barrage of stone and dirt, they could barely cried out as they puffed out of existence... some of the stones even going THROUGH them. A lot of them continued flying beyond the tree line.

The real Naruto and Karin gulped once more; Sasuke stared on impressed while Soujiro pointed out the obvious. "She's strong"

Sakura smirked to herself; lately her punches had been getting even more powerful. It made her chest swell with pride...

 **THWACK**!

"AH!"

...and then it deflated when they heard the sound of a rock hitting someone, followed by the sound of a body hitting the ground.

For a moment, the young ninjas stood still.

"Crap" Sakura muttered in growing horror.

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

When princess Maiyuri went to the training grounds for a bit a training, she was half expecting anyone to actually stop her, seeing as they were reserved for the shinobi corps, and it could be dangerous to just wander in. Not to look a gifted horse in the mouse, she continued her trek and soon was distracted by the sounds of sparring, there amongst the trees she the newest generation of shinobi training. Team 7, a peculiar team composed of the village Jinchuuriki, who happened to be of Uzumaki and Namikaze descent, the sole Uchiha left in Konoha, and a civilian born pinkette (whose shade of hair was much stronger than her own) who actually showed a lot of promise and talent.

Again there was this nagging feeling on the back of her neck, how part of her thought it was wrong for children to be made into soldiers, such was the cruel world they lived in, and gods did Maiyuri hate it…

But seeing them act so open with each other, she could see these youths were good friends. It warmed her heart to see the Konoha sense of kinship and camaraderie was more than just words.

She knew what it was to form a bond of trust and caring with others, as her eyes closed she thought back on the days of her childhood, when she trained under the fire monks. There had been another girl her age, pretty much her polar opposite, loud, energetic, without a care in the world, she would shout and laugh so much, making the days brighter just by being there.

Heh, even if Yuma could be a pain sometimes and got her into so much trouble, there was no other person she could trust more than her. She was always the one Maiyuri could trust with her fears, her ideals, her dreams, and Yuma would support her without question…

So lost in her memories she was, her closed eyes failed to notice a piece of rock flying at her at high velocity.

She fell to the ground like a sack of potatoes.

The five ran in the direction of where they heard the yelp and body landing in the forest area. They found a young woman who groaned as she held her hooded head. "Oh gosh are you alright?" Sakura said quickly as she knelt down with Karin and helped the woman sat up.

"I will be fine, I think." The woman rubbed her face with her one hand as she put down her hood. The pre-teens saw a young woman in her early twenties with short rosette hair like Sakura's but of a lighter tone of pink. Flawless pale skin saves the mark from Sakura's rock on her forehead (which made the Haruno wince). Opening her eyes they saw they were also a lighter jade than Sakura's as well. "Good display of strength by the way."

Standing beside the girls, Naruto squinted beside Sasuke and Soujiro; "Lucky it didn't take your head off." The blond winced from the sharp glare his teammate was giving.

"Are you a civilian," Sasuke asked with a cocked brow; "Or are you a spy?"

Well this wasn't how Maiyuri ever thought she meet some of the shinobi of this village. The outright suspicion and potential hostility took her back. "What makes you think I'm a spy?" She questioned.

"Civilians don't venture into the training grounds on their own, they are afraid of getting caught in the crossfire of a stray jutsu or a weapon" He explained, and it was then that Maiyuri noticed his eyes had activated into his Sharingan momentarily. "Plus, your chakra reserves are far too large to be a civilian"

The young woman did not look threatened, in fact, she looked bemused if anything. "Well, I see ninjas are paranoid even at a young age"

"Paranoia is healthy" Sasuke quoted, he'd heard that from older shinobi plenty of times. "It keeps you alive"

"I bet" She laughed, "My name's Maiyuri. Don't worry; I'm not a spy or anything. I'm just visiting for the exams. Should have known better than to just come here for a quick workout" She hissed as she tenderly rubbed the sore spot on her forehead.

"Sorry..." Sakura mumbled, sounding like a sad puppy.

"It's alright" She smiled, "You got a strong fist, miss..."

"Oh! Sakura" The younger pinkette introduced herself. "Sakura Haruno"

She gestured to the others; "This are my teammates Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha. And these are our friends Karin and Soujiro Uzumaki."

Maiyuri paid attention to the two Uzumakis. She had heard like everyone else about actual surviving members of the Uzumaki clan had come to the village. That and saw Kushina rampage through the village, who was chasing down that red-haired scoundrel that grabbed her backside while running away…

Besides that little event, it warmed her heart knowing there were more members of the ancient Uzu still very much alive.

"It's nice to meet you," the princess spoke politely as Karin and Sakura helped her to her feet. "Sorry for snooping on you all."

Naruto waved it off with a grin; "It's cool,"

"You never said if you were a ninja or not" Sasuke pointed.

To which the young woman laughed, "No, I'm more a warrior myself. I trained with the fire monks since childhood. Ninja aren't the only types of fighters in the world after all" She said with humor in her voice.

"You wanna spar with us?!" The blonde asked excitedly.

Sakura felt the urge to bonk him in the head, "Who asks that out of nowhere?! She was just hit on the head, have some tact!"

"Why are you so mad at me? You're the one who hit her on the head" He backed away as a threatening growl came from her throat.

Maiyuri couldn't help but giggle at their antics, they were honestly so very cute and-

A surge of killing intent flooded the area, putting them all on edge. Sand emerged from the trees and coalesced into one place.

While the kids sharply turned their heads, Maiyuri looked up with a surprised expression seeing the Suna Jinchurriki appearing via a sand shunshin. The air around them soon felt cold, murderous as his blank emotionless sea-foam green eyes stared at them all.

' _Why is he here?_ ' Sasuke mentally mused before speaking; "Need something Suna?"

Gaara wasn't paying him attention as he looked directly at Naruto. The blond felt a chill down his spine as he looked into his fellow Jinchuuriki's eyes. The Suna Genin soon lifted a finger hand and pointed his finger at the blond. "Why do you feel like me?" His voice so devoid of feeling it made everyone unnerved. The others looked to Naruto who soon walked to the front of the group, almost protectively.

His cerulean eyes stared back fiercely "Because I am like you" His words came out strong. "I... am a Jinchuuriki too" He didn't care that the young woman heard him; this was a long time coming.

Gaara's eyes widened just a fraction, understanding dawning on him. "I see... and yet I don't" He sounded genuinely confused. "You above all others should understand what we are... and yet I find you here, mingling with weaklings and prey"

"These are my friends" Naruto snapped. "And my family"

"A meaningless word to people like us" Gaara replied uncaringly. "We are weapons you and I, there is the battlefield, the blood of our enemies, and nothing more. No friends, no family. We are all we have" He gazed at the blonde's companions with disdain. "These people you call friends, your family? Nonsense, there can never be such a thing for us. Love, companionship, kinship, they are nothing but lies"

He sounded so certain, the others thoughts disturbed. His world view was just so... twisted, broken. Gaara himself was broken.

"I don't know what happened to you" Compassion laced his voice. "But that's not true" Naruto couldn't help but feel sympathy for the Suna ninja. He just knew there was pain in him, one he understood very well. Loneliness, the thought that nobody would care for him. "You just need to give it a chance and you'll see it too"

"...You ask what happened to me" Small traces of anger began to creep out in his guttural voice. "My father sealed the One Tail in me, my village casted me out" He took a step forward, making the others take a stance in case they needed to act. Only Naruto stayed still. "Alone. My own 'family' denied me. I was born drenched in blood, as my mother died giving birth to me"

Closer and closer he moved towards the blonde.

"She never loved me"

To them, that couldn't be true. A mother was meant to love their child, always.

"There was nothing to my existence, but it was in the constant attempts on my life that I found the answer, such that I experienced joy for the first time"

A psychotic smile graced his lips.

"Death... Killing was all they made me for and so killing justified my reason to exist" He stood a foot away from Naruto. "I need the blood of others, only then do I truly live"

The blond felt a chill down his spine as Gaara leaned forward; "And I saw a glimpse of the real you during the prelims. When you killed that weakling human. I felt the hate and rage if only for moment, the real you. The monster that's like me."

' _This is how they make Jinchurriki_ ,' a shuddering thought came to Maiyuri's mind. Never in her life has she felt so disturbed by seeing this poor child twisted into this!

Naruto's gaze softened, "No, I don't believe that" And glared back defiantly at the redhead from Suna. "Just like I don't believe things has to be like this, for you, for me, for anybody"

His words confused Gaara; he just couldn't understand why this fool was so blind. He spoke as though there was a choice, when that choice had been made for them a long time ago.

He spoke of friends and family with such a disgusting fondness that it made his blood boil. Gaara decided that if couldn't make him see, then at least he'd take his blood. Yes, that would please Mother...

"...I'm tired of your idiocy" Sand slowly crept out from his gourd.

Naruto jumped back, taking a stance as crystal emerged from his hands, forming into kunai. His teammates and relatives prepared themselves, trying to shield Maiyuri. But the young woman did not let herself be intimated, and so too steeled herself to fight.

That was when out of the trees dropped multiple blurs, all geared in grey vests and wearing animal masks, much to everyone's surprise. The ANBU had arrived in a moment's notice, and they honestly couldn't be happier for their presence.

With the exception of Maiyuri, realization dawning on her face as to why they had ANBU appeared so quickly.

"Gaara of the Sand" One of the ANBU, a man whose mask resembled a cat, spoke with authority. "If you do not desist now, your actions will be seen as a violation of the Chūnin Exams' truce, as well as the Konoha-Suna Treaty. Stand down or we'll be forced detain you and inform the Hokage you started this conflict"

The Sand Shinobi glared at the ANBU who spoke before directing his attention back to Naruto; "I will wake you from this lie you believe so strongly in. We are monsters..." In a blink he vanished via shunshin.

Everyone let out a long collective sigh with Sakura giving the ANBU a grateful smile; "Thank you."

The man in the cat mask glanced at them; "We were on patrol and saw the situation. Be careful around that Suna Genin." Soon as those words left the man's lips all the ANBU were gone.

Naruto gazed to the ground as he clinched his fists. "...I could have been like him," He whispered though all heard him.

"Oh no" Sakura was all too quick to reply, a heavy frown on her eyes while her tone left no room for arguments. "None of that, you hear me? None of that 'if' nonsense. You didn't turn out like him, and you're never going to be like him" Said with utmost certainty.

"Idiot" Sasuke agreed, in his own way. "Don't start moping now. You're not that psychopath"

It moved him that his teammates were so fast to comfort him and wash away his fears. "Thank you, guys" He said with gratitude, "But I just... I can't help but feel bad for Gaara. I mean you all saw how messed up he is, what his own village and his family did to him. Makes what I went through look like a walk in the park..."

Maiyuri grunted to herself uncomfortably at the thought of her fellow people of the Land of Fire treating one of their own like that when he carried such a heavy burden.

"It's hard to explain" Naruto continued, "But it's like... Like I know him. I know it sounds weird, but I really feel I understand him. Far better than I ever understood anyone..."

"What you feel is empathy" Surprisingly, it was Soujiro who spoke. His voice carried its usual collected and soft tone, "Born of a burden only you can understand. You both share a terrible responsibility entrusted upon you at a time you didn't even have a choice in the matter, and by proxy became the target of resentment and anger. I believe you see in Gaara something akin to a kindred spirit"

Team 7 plus Karin all stared at Soujiro with squinting gazes, completely taken aback that the usually so quiet and reserved boy had just spoke such insightful words.

"Yeeeeeeah" Naruto slowly replied, more than a little weirded out. "Like that"

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

After bidding her farewells to Team 7 and the two Uzumakis the princess knew exactly where she needed to go. And she had been so certain she kept herself well-hidden that no one would notice. Well, least not till much later. Then again she should have known better since this place is a 'ninja village'...

Those ANBU that conveniently showed up have likely been following her since she arrived.

Standing outside the Hokage's office Maiyuri sighed before knocking; "Enter." Hiruzen's stern voice came. Opening and entering the room the princess saw the Sandaime smoking from his pipe as he dryly glared in her direction. Beside him was the ANBU man in the cat mask. "Have you been enjoying the village Maiyuri-Hime? Tenzō has kept me informed of your activities since you try to 'sneak' into a village full of ninja." His voice being a dry as sand paper.

The soft pinkette dropped her head in defeat with a heavy sigh, closing the door behind her. "Alright, alright I get" She grumbled in exasperation, proceeding to list off with her fingers, "'It was very irresponsible'. 'I should have known better'. 'I need to think of the consequences'. 'It's not the best time I could have done this'. 'My father will hear of this'" She finished by slumping into a nearby couch. "Am I missing one?" She droned.

"Hmm, no you pretty much covered them all" Hiruzen quipped, "But you got one wrong. Your father won't be hearing of this"

The princess had to do a double take at that, "What?"

Hiruzen's smile was far too cheerful for her liking. "He already knows"

Her shoulders slumped as her expression morphed to despair.

"Why do you think Akiha-sama let you go in the first place" The Hokage said as he shuffled some papers on his desk.

Now she was back to confusion, "Wait what?"

"Akiha-sama felt this may calm that rebellious fire within you by seeing the world outside the capital. Although I was told your two personal guards are rather cross with you."

Maiyuri winced; Namika and Miharu were likely going to yell at her when she got home. Never mind what her father would have in-store for her. "If I going to rule the nation shouldn't I see the nation?" she still had her stubbornness showing.

"I don't disagree," Hiruzen sighed exhaling out a plume of smoke; "But there are dangers not even your training from the fire monks could ever have prepared you for outside the capital. Especially if someone recognizes you."

At that Maiyuri gazed down to the floor. The price of being nobility was a heavy one. "I grow wary of living inside the castle all day, every day" She tiredly said. "I understand Father just wants to keep me safe but... it's smothering. I barely interact with my own people, much less people from my own age" She said the last part a touch bitterly. Maiyuri then set her gaze on the aged Hokage, "I think you better than anyone understands, Hiruzen-dono. The way you as Hokage take time to be with your people, even with such a busy duty"

"I believe a true leader understands and connects with their people" At that, Hiruzen agreed wholeheartedly. "But I do not question the Daimyo. Had your father not told us otherwise, we would have already sent you back to the capital escorted"

Maiyuri stared back at him defiantly.

The Sarutobi sighed, gods that girl had the same fire as her mother. "Look, you can stay until the exams end. But afterwards you'll be returning directly to the capital"

"You can't order me, Hokage" She said, putting emphasis into his tile.

"You're not the daimyo yet" He reminded her, "And this my village"

"...Fine" She grunted out dissatisfied, but it looked like she wouldn't argue anymore.

The Hokage gave a small shake of his head, tapping over his pipe to clear some blockage. "Now, I must ask; what made you decide to come here during the Exams?"

"For being such a big part of how our society works" Maiyuri spoke, "I know very little of how shinobi culture works beyond the common knowledge. I was curious and the exams hosted in here Konoha presented the perfect opportunity for me to learn" She pursed her lips, "I will not lie and say that seeing children no older than twelve being on active duty disturbs me somewhat"

"Such are our traditions" The Hokage merely said, though not uncaringly. "It was much worse during the Clan Wars era"

"Doesn't make it any more right now" The princess argued.

"And if the age requirement for our shinobi were to be raised, we'd quickly find ourselves outpaced by the other villages and left weakened as a result"

"Do you personally believe that? Throwing children into life or death situations where they could die or worse? It does not matter how well one is trained, they are still children." Maiyuri spoke with fire in her voice.

Tenzō glanced to his Kage whose face remained unreadable but his mind was another matter. Of course he did not want children into the Shinobi corps. He never told anyone but he was terrified that Konohamaru even started training! He remembered the horrors of all three Shinobi wars and the toll it took on the Genin who fought in each one. Yet the tradition was laid out in stone for all the hidden villages.

Maiyuri soon clinched her fists; "And then there is the subject of the Jinchurriki." Her knuckles turned white.

The wizened Kage tiredly ran a hand over his face. "Yes, I know you were there when the boy Gaara made his... proclamations"

"I know Naruto-san's case was bad, but what was done to that Suna boy" Her voice was full of disbelief; she just couldn't understand how someone could psychologically torment a person until they snapped like that. The boy barely felt human, he was turning into the monster everyone claimed. There was only violence and disdain for life in him. Maiyuri shook her head, "The Jinchuuriki system is a sham, Hiruzen-dono. It was meant to act as a deterrence to prevent aggression between villages. And what was the result? Three ninja wars and dozens of smaller conflicts between villages, both great and minor"

The Hokage remained silent for a moment, his expression so guarded she couldn't even tell what he was feeling.

"I know"

His simple reply surprised not only her, but also the cat masked ANBU at his side, if the momentary shift in his posture indicated.

"We both know this system doesn't work, there is no point in lying. Hashirama-Sama, for all his virtues, did not foresee things escalating like this"

The princess released a soft sigh; "I know he meant well and wanted to end the wars. But what it has come to now, it must change."

At that the old Kage was silent; "Such a change will not come easy. I hope you fully understand the ramifications of what you will face if you decide to choose this path, it will be exceedingly treacherous."

"But it will be the right one," Maiyuri just had to think and see more of this village to grasp the plan she wanted. And see if it was truly the right course of action.

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

Sitting in the training room of his house, Naruto and his teammates along with Kakashi, Kushina, and Jiraiya had decided to put their heads together and discuss a much needed strategy against their respected opponents in the 3rd exam.

They first told them about their encounter with Gaara in the training fields, Kushina of course was appalled at what the boy had gone through as a Jinchuuriki. Her own history as Konoha's Jinchuuriki made her have a soft spot for those like her, dealing with a Tailed Beast had been a heavy burden but was helped by the fact she had caring people at her side and her status was unknown to the general population and shinobi force.

Gaara on the other hand...

"If I had my way" Kushina grunted from her place in the couch, "I'd make a proper seal for the boy"

"But you don't" Jiraiya reminded her, leaning on the seat next to her, "Trust me, I'm not happy about it either, but our hands are tied. That is a matter pertaining solely to Suna"

The redhead clearly wasn't pleased with it, her reaction made it evident. Kakashi gently palmed her shoulder, offering a bit of support.

"I really wished there was something we could do" Naruto spoke, "I refuse to believe Gaara is beyond hope" If he ever began to think like that then he'd be doing the same thing the very people who shunned him did...

 _'He has sensei's optimism,'_ Kakashi mentally mused.

Sakura also had explained how she had accidentally hit a woman with rose colored hair much like hers, named Maiyuri. The young Genin saw the three adults in the room turn white as ghosts. Their sensei looked like a dead man walking which made the kids look at each other in confusion but shrug it off.

They finally got down to business and Naruto started off about Lee; "I've seen Lee train and spared with him when hanging out with Ten-chan."

"Got your ass handed to you didn't ya?" Jiraiya commented as his part-time student slumped his head; "If you think of fighting Lee with taijutsu you're done even before you began. Gai might be the weirdest person in the entire village, but he is the greatest hand to hand combat expert ever produced."

"Heh, don't had to tell me that" The bruises he got were still fresh in his mind. "Think I got something planned with the seals I learnt with mom-"

"I'm a great teacher!" Kushina humbly said.

"-I'll have to get close first, but that's what my crystal armor is for. I'll take some hits for sure, but I can make it work" If all fails, clone rush. Gods he loved that jutsu.

"Well, sounds like you got it figured it" Kakashi proudly complimented him.

"To be honest, I'm actually eager for the fight" He couldn't stop smirking at the anticipation. "Lee's like me, so this will mean a lot for the two of us"

The adults and his teammate's shared a confused look, "What do you mean?" Sasuke asked.

"Well, we're both hard workers" The blonde Uzumaki explained, "We had to work a lot to get where we are, all we had was guts and nothing else to go by"

"Yes" Sakura said slowly, "At the academy you had a lot of problems getting the hang of techniques, but clearly not anymore. You made a lot of progress"

"Well, yeah" Naruto admitted, "Because I had great teachers"

"And when you think about it" The pinkette continued, "You were actually born with lots of advantages. You awoke your Shoton; your Uzumaki lineage gives you plenty of chakra and a strong constitution, plus a natural talent for mastering seals"

Naruto frowned, not liking where this conversation was going. Though a part of him couldn't help but feel deeply affected by her words, it pretty much threw his arguments out the window...

"Sorry to tell you kid" Jiraiya spoke, arms crossing over his chest. "You're not an underdog; you were just a late bloomer like me. And you're certainly not like Lee, he's had to fight his handicap from the start, you on the other hand were born with the deck stacked in your favor"

A frowned formed on the blond's lips; "But I-"

"You really haven't noticed it have you?" The blond turned to his Uchiha teammate; "Guess you are still bit of a knucklehead."

"Gee, thanks..."

"The point we're making is you have changed." Sasuke picked up one of Naruto's crystal kunai; "When this manifested is when it started, and ever since you have become different day by day. When we first sparred back in the academy you could never beat me. Now, we've been even ever since Nami."

The realization hit Naruto right where it hurt him the most, in his beliefs. "Great, now I feel like a giant hypocrite"

"Bah you're making a big deal out of nothing" Kushina waved it off. "You were born with advantages, so what? Does it suddenly make you a different person; are you going to turn into a smug prick now?"

"Hell no!" Naruto fiercely replied.

"Well there's your answer" His mother simply said. "Some people are slow learners, some are average, some are naturals, some are geniuses, and some are hard workers. And even if you can't believe it there are naturals who also work hard. My seals always came easy to me, and I practiced them daily. But my ninjutsu and genjutsu were always subpar; I had to supplement the first one with my seals until I became decent enough"

Naruto leaned back in his seat with a hum, musing over her words.

"Naruto" His pink haired teammate said, "Isn't the type of person you are and how you use your skills more important than how you got there?"

"...No" He finally admitted, "I guess not" He let out a long dragged out sigh. "It's just, now it feels wrong. When I fight Lee I wanted it to be the two of us giving our all because we're so similar... or so I thought"

"Weeeell look how much I care" Jiraiya droned. "You're a ninja, deal with it. If Lee isn't smart enough to strategize instead of fighting head on, then that's his problem"

"Lee's lack of skill for ninjutsu and genjutsu can be compensated by a heavy use of tools with the right tactics" Kakashi threw in his two cents, "Considering his teammate is Tenten, I would have expected him to possess a large array of items and use them in fights. So far, I've yet to see him use something other than kunai and shuriken. He is too much focused on what he believes is the only thing that can make him a great ninja"

The blond thought for moment; "Yeah, Lee only ever sparred using taijutsu and nothing else."

At hearing that Kushina groaned rubbing the bridge of her nose; "Gai still hyper-focuses doesn't he?" Kakashi awkwardly chuckled which gave her answer.

"That gives you an edge brat," Jiraiya mused; "Ninjutsu and seals should do the trick. But if you're thinking of piling a hundred or so clones on him to wear him out it won't work. Remember this guy nearly has as much stamina as you do. You're going to have to be clever."

Naruto nodded in acknowledgement, so Jiraiya turned to Sakura, "Well, pinkie, how goes your preparation?"

"Got all the stock I need" Sakura replied, "Just need to get used to the other part. Oh which reminds me" She searched into her pouch and pulled out a tiny bottle and unscrewed the cork; she grimaced as the contents entered her mouth. "Blah!" The taste did not get any better no matter how many times she did this.

"Heh, you'll be thankful later" Kakashi said with humor in his voice. "Neji is taijutsu powerhouse like Lee, but vastly different due to his clan's style. If he gets near you and closes enough chakra points then it's game over"

"You'll kick his ass for me right?" Naruto asked with a large smile on his face.

"As if you even need to ask" Sakura grinned right back. "I'll make him regret doing that to Hinata"

"Hopefully when you win" It warmed Sakura's heart the way Kushina said 'when', and not 'if', the Uzu redhead already believed she would emerge victorious. "You'll knock some sense into him" She sighed sadly, "He has a very fatalistic view of things from what I hear..."

It put a knot in Kushina's heart thinking about Hizashi's son acting like this. But she still hoped Neji could turn himself around before the worst ever happened.

Jiraiya turned his attention to the Uchiha; "And you brat? You know your opponent is a Jinchurriki, and an unstable one at that. Anything can happen facing this kid."

The old Sannin did not have to remind Sasuke of that. His opponent was extremely dangerous and it would take all he has learned thus far if he even thought he could win. If that sand of his grabbed him, it was over. "Will my dojutsu is any help against this guy?" He didn't know how effective ocular genjutsu would be on him, and Gaara seldom moved, all he would be able to follow would be his sand. And that was another challenge in and of itself.

"The harder part will be to pierce his defenses" His sensei spoke, "Which is why I've been teaching you the Chidori. That will be your ace. Use when you think you have a clear shot"

Sasuke nodded in return, his sensei's lightning technique was specially designed to pierce through any target. Given how Gaara's sand was technically earth element, the Chidori should be able to pierce through his protections.

"You need to rely on your instincts more than your eyes," Kushina stated; "Mi-chan for one rarely used her Sharingan unless she absolutely had to."

"That sounds... odd for an Uchiha" The dark haired boy remarked.

"She didn't want to become reliant on it. The Sharingan is a great boon, yes, but eventually you run the risk of going too low on chakra. When this happens your body can't react fast enough to the movements of your opponent which you could previously see clearly" It was sometimes hard to remember that this very energetic woman could also be a proper teacher when necessary, as shown by her insightful explanation. "Isn't that right Kakashi?"

"Well, in my case my Sharingan drains me faster because I'm not an Uchiha" He replied. "And it's not as omnipotent as you imagine. Remember Nami, I could see Zabuza's movements clearly, and that allowed me to keep up. But he was still very fast, it doesn't matter if you can't match your opponent's movements. If you let the battle drag on then the opponent will catch on and adapt as well, it's almost like the Sharingan doesn't make much of a difference with its base abilities."

"Which is why Mi-chan always concentrated on both honing her body and developing her techniques" Kushina continued, "By the time she used her Sharingan, it REALLY made a difference because of how sparsely she used it, the enemy didn't have the time to grow used to her adapting to their movements"

"Your mother played it smart," Jiraiya commented gaining the others attention; "Follow her example kid. Mikoto shared the number two spot with red here because they were dead even" The Toad sage thumbed to a smirking Kushina.

"And I would have been number one" She remarked, "Had I actually been able to use the Hiraishin proper like your father..." The redhead grumbled the last part.

"Woah" Naruto breathed out in awe. "You know the Hiraishin seal mom?"

"Know it? I helped your father improve it!" She took delight in the awed faces of the youths. "Tobirama's original seal only allowed for two people at the same time to be transported, but with your dad we managed to remove that limit, it opened a lot of doors for us regarding space-time seals. Hell before I found out I was pregnant I was working on a special area seal to nullify space-time techniques" She crossed her arms as her expression became one of dissatisfaction. "It kind of worked, could nullify summonings, substitutions and more, but the area of effect doesn't discriminate and everyone is affected"

Sakura leaned in with interest, "Does that mean you can use the Flying Thunder God like the Yondaime?"

"Pfft, I wish" Kushina grumbled, "Unfortunately, it takes more than knowing the seal, you need to have a good affinity with space-time techniques. That thing isn't just mere self-summoning; it literally rips apart at the dimensional barriers and crosses through a void. No sign that it's being used no need to use handseals, and the delay is a meager 0.2 seconds... if you have the affinity for it like I said. Which I don't, I need to prepare it beforehand, concentrate on which tag I'm targeting, takes enough time for it to very unsuitable for combat, unlike how it was for Minato and the Nidaime"

"The Hokage's personal guards" Kakashi took over, "Raidō, Genma and Iwashi were taught the technique by Minato-sensei, and they can only use it in conjunction, that's how difficult it is"

"What about you, sensei?" Naruto asked in curiously. "Do you know it?"

"Yes, but unfortunately my problem is the same as Kushina-sama's" He ignored the 'cut it out with the sama!' coming from the redhead next to him. "Not to mention it takes me a bit longer to even make one of those seals. I can't use it in combat"

"But there is something I sure as hell can do" Kushina grinned as she held up her palm, chakra gathered on a swirling motion, soon becoming a steady orb of pure energy.

The genin looked on fascinated, "You can use Rasengan? Awesome!" Naruto said with a thousand watt smile.

"Yep, the technique your father took years to develop, and Jiraiya months to learn it"

"How long did it take you?"

"A day"

The three genin fell to the ground in surprise. "What?!" Her son exclaimed.

"Hehehe" She giggled teasingly sending a look at the toad sage, "Yeah, when I first tried it I just put seals on my arm to force the chakra to rotate and take shape until it stabilized, afterwards I learnt how to do it without them, had all the time in world to do so because I could spam these things easily. Ohhh the look on your dad and Jiraiya's faces when they realized they could have used seals all along. Oh!" She point at the Sannin, "There, that's that face I'm talking about!"

It was that of a man who had the answer right in front of him all along but couldn't see the forest for the trees. In short, when one felt like a dumbass. And it was hilarious.

After recovering from the initial shock. The rosette looked to her Uzumaki teammate; "Maybe you can try and learn the Hiraishin?"

Naruto was beaming at the thought.

"But first you'd need to advance your sealing abilities a lot" Kushina spoke up, changing his smile into a frown. "This is a very complex seal. Right now we focus on what you need to beat your opponents." She glanced to Sasuke; "And pray you don't get killed so Mi-chan doesn't haunt me."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence..."

* * *

 **XxX ~ the following day ~ XxX**

* * *

Naruto and Karin were waiting at the front of their house, they had been called by Lyn who (after a long phone spat with Kushina) asked if they knew a good blacksmith and weapons shop, as she was in need of resupplying and caring her for gear. Of course, Naruto had the perfect place in mind. And so they waited for the wild maned relative to arrive.

"I can feel at least two ANBU keeping watch on me" Karin mused out loud.

"You know how it is, just protocol"

"Well, I can't blame them. Former servant of Orochimaru, I wouldn't trust me"

"I trust you!" Naruto beamed, "You're family!"

Karin couldn't help but smile, feeling very touched. "That's a poor attitude for a ninja" She admonished, but her tone did not match her voice. Naruto just waved it off as he always did. The bespectacled girl perked up, "Oh here she comes, and..." She pauses as she turned to the stairs that went up to the upper level of the street.

Follow her gaze, Naruto saw Lyn dressed in a dark tank top and a skirt with an opening on the side, clearly dressing to show off her looks. He paused as he saw Kya standing next to her, wearing her usual one sleeved blue robes; the two were talking about something he couldn't make out.

He still felt a bit down that he wasn't getting as close to his Namikaze relative as he did with his Uzumaki side of the family, but Kya simply wasn't making it any easy.

Lyn laughed something out loud, while Kya remained her impassive edge. Though sharper eyes could not the blonde's gaze softened whenever she looked at the redhead. Lyn wrapped her arms around the Namikaze and planted a big sloppy kiss on her lips, which Kya slowly returned.

"Can't believe someone like Kya is with someone like Lyn..." Karin muttered in disbelief. They were like salt and sugar.

After finally letting go, Lyn waved her girlfriend goodbye and descended down the stairs. Kya took notice of the two young ninja and regarded them with vague interest. Naruto awkwardly waved his hand at her, and after a moment the messy haired Namikaze woman returned his greeting with a nod before leaving, likely to meditate somewhere.

"Things are still tense with you two huh?" The bespectacled girl asked.

"You have no idea..."

Hearing that as she descended down Lyn patted the blond Uzumaki on the head with a sad smile. "You have to go by Kya's pace kiddo." At that Naruto gave a nod as the buxom Uzumaki soon smirked; "Now no more sour faces! Please show your auntie Lyn this super-duper smith who can fix her awesome armor and weapons!"

Karin squinted much like her cousin; "Isn't that shirt a touch too small?"

Naruto said nothing though the blush from his cheeks said everything avoiding not staring at the woman's ample cleavage. Lyn snorted; "Oh honey it'd be a crime to hide these beauties."

Karin's eyes twitched.

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

Journeying through the village to the Higarashi weapon's shop was a small event with most men and some women staring at the figure of Lyn who was speaking casually with Naruto and Karin. Lyn was such a free spirited person it was easy for them to get along with her so fast like they did with Samenosuke.

Honestly, they could say that Lyn was a lot like Kushina, but they were certain hearing such a thing would piss her off. The two tended to fight a lot for some unfathomable reason.

They did not take long to reach the Higarashi's weapon shop; passing through the entrance they found Tenten in the counter. Naruto was half-expecting her to be training today, so it was a bit of a surprise to see her. "Yo, Ten-chan!"

"Well if it isn't most visible ninja in the world" Tenten grinned at him, before taking notice of Karin and Lyn. It was very surreal to hear that the Red Death was alive, and even more so find out more Uzumaki had arrived to the village seeking asylum. "You have a lot of nerve, coming here when you failed to introduce me to your mom"

Naruto scratched his neck, "Sorry, things were really hectic lately" He said as Lyn began to browse through the various weapons and items in the shop. "But, you could have visited me any day you know?"

At that, Tenten actually blushed in embarrassment and avoided his gaze.

"...Oh gods, you're nervous about meeting her" He said with a deadpanning voice. That was just... fangirly behavior.

"No I'm not!" Tenten snapped at him. "It's just that she's so, so, so cool!" A little bit more and there'd be stars in her eyes. "I'm just apprehensive, that's all"

Karin droned, "That's just another word for nervous"

Tenten mildly glared before sighing and looked back to her blond friend; "Can you please introduce me sometime?"

Naruto only squinted "Just come and visit Ten-chan, I guarantee it'll be a… experience." Seriously whatever she was imagining what his mother was like, it will not come close to reality. Or would it? Girls were always so hard to figure out.

Lyn rolled her eyes as she walked up to the counter; "If you want a badass Uzumaki to look up to then she's right in front of you, kiddo." She flashed a toothy grin; "Not only am I more badass, I am way more sexy that Kushi."

Naruto and Karin just deadpan; "What is the deal with you and mom anyways..." the blond grumbled.

"Hmph, we always fought as kids, she could never admit I was Tsukiko-baachan's favorite"

"I get the feeling mom would say the opposite if I were to ask her"

"Oh quiet you" The wild maned woman retorted before addressing the bun haired girl. "So, I'm looking to restock, plus I need someone to check my gear"

"Alright" Tenten opened a notebook and spun a pen in her hands, "What do you need"

"I'll need 30 smoke bombs, 30 oil bombs, 30 flash bombs" The young genin wrote it down, "Plus 60 empty bomb casings for custom make. A bag of a two hundred caltrops. A set 40 kunai and 80 shuriken" Tenten couldn't help but give the woman a look as she wrote the order down.

"Alright, we can have it made in two days" Tenten said. "Yeesh, this is a big order for just one person"

"I'll say" The strong male voice of Tenten's father spoke. The tower man entered the shop from the back door, wiping his dirty hands on his apron. "I usually fill orders like that but for whole teams who are assigned on long term deployment" Kaito said with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, I use a lot of tools in my line of work. Pays to be prepared considering the things I hunt"

"What do you hunt?" Tenten lifted a brow.

"The bad, the ugly and the worse"

"That tells us pretty much nothing" Karin pointed out.

"Oh you wanna see what I hunt?" Lyn had an all too predatory smirk on her face, "Here" She reached into her pockets and pulled out a miniaturized scroll. A touch of chakra and it returned to its regular size. She casually opened the scroll to reveal its sealing matrix. "Check this out" And formed a hand sign.

The scroll unleash its content in a blast of smoke, when it cleared away the others gawked at the sight of the severed of a giant chicken-like beast, its eyes were glazed otherwise the head was in remarkable condition, as though it hasn't decayed yet.

For a few seconds, there was only silence. Until Tenten's father broke it, "That better not stink my shop" He warned.

Lyn ignored him, "Isn't it cool? Killed this bad boy just a couple of days ago"

"What is it?" Naruto muttered as he looked the thing over.

"It's a basan! Well, the head of one. The rest is currently stored in my scrolls for food"

"Wait..." Tenten muttered as her brow furrowed. "Is this one of those giant fire-breathing birds? I heard of them but never saw one"

Lyn let out a grunt; "This charming fella was causing a little stir in a village." Why did they feel a 'little stir' meant all hell broke loose? "But this sexy badass took it down without a fuss." she finished with a smug grin as she crossed her arms under her bust.

"That's all well in good but can you put that back please," Kaito drawled with a mild glare.

Karin inspected the head before the buxom redhead sealed it back. "So a demon hunter."

"I do hunt regular bounties too; I have no problems tearing down bandits or slavers. But my main profession is slaying demons who are being meanies to villages."

Relieved that the severed monster's head was gone Kaito rubbed his eyes; "That's rather a dangerous life."

"So is being a ninja big guy," Lyn retorted with a cock of the head; "And your kiddo is one."

"Touché."

"Which reminds me" She took another scroll from her other pocket, this time unsealing a naginata. The shaft was black, with a golden flame shaped pommel at the end, on the other side was a coiling serpentine body that lead to the maw of a dragon from where its open maw came the blade, the back of the blade was shaped like fire while the edge shined with stainless steel. "Need you to take a look at it. See if anything needs fixing" She threw the weapon at the large man who caught it with one hand.

"Hmm" He mused as he inspected the weapon, feeling the weight and running a finger over the blade, Tenten gushed with stars on her eyes as she looked at it. "Very good craftsmanship. Did you make it?"

"If I did, I wouldn't be asking you to look it over" She droned, "Nah, found it years ago in some ruin. Looked Clan Wars era, probably even older"

"Does it have a name?" Tenten asked.

"I don't waste time with stuff like that. Pfft, if I did I'd probably follow the trend and call it something pretentious like a lot of people do" She chuckled, "How about Stabby-san? That's a good name"

"Naginata's don't stab" Naruto pointed out, even he knew that. "They're for slashing"

Lyn narrowed her eyes, "Don't sass me you brat" She handed the same scroll which had contained her weapon to Tenten. "My armor is here too, would like it all looked at along with my order"

"I'm a bit busy lately with the exams going on" Kaito shrugged his broad shoulders, "Will take me at least six days before I can finally look at your gear"

"Well, that won't do at all" The blue eyed woman said with disappointment. "I don't like not having my stuff for so long" She tapped her lip in thought, fingers snapping as a thought occurred to her. "Say, you ever used more... esoteric material in your work?"

Father and daughter exchanged a curious look, "What do you mean?" Tenten asked.

"Ever made poison with the venom sacks of a jorōgumo, a bokken with the bark of a jubboko?" A grin adorned her lips, "Or fire bombs with a basan's stomach acid?

Naruto and Karin gave Tenten a disturbing look as the girl was nearly salivating a thought of making weapons with such materials.

"...I'm listening" The blacksmith said with concealed interest.

"I get you rare materials like that" Lyn proposed, "And you look over my gear early, not to mention a discount here and there~"

As to show she knew what she was talking about, Lyn pulled out another scroll. Unfurling it on the cashier's table she went through quick hand seals and placed her hand on the scroll. In a quick burst of smoke soon appeared were several metal ores plus pieces of wood.

Kaito's eyes grew as wide as Tenten's with stars shining in both. "I-is that..." He stuttered. Picking up one of the ores as if it was a holy relic he looked at it in all with his daughter; "Where did you find this?!"

Lyn just smirked; "All you need to know is I can get you more~. What do you say big guy?"

"You got it!" Father and daughter chorused

Naruto dryly turned Karin; "What is that stuff anyways?" The glasses wearing redhead only shrugged back.

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

The concept of home was a peculiar one; this Soujiro had come to learn as he listened to the tales of his father, uncle, and aunt.

Home went beyond the process of owning a house, a roof above your head where you could dwell. A home was a concept, intangible, but very much real and present.

Home was where you could feel safe, where you would feel both joy and sorrow and be able to share it with people important to you. The people who had a prominent presence within your life.

The house where he grew up, hidden, was his home, because his family was there. Any place that housed his father and relatives was a home to Soujiro. The rest were just commodities, he did not need neither walls nor roofs. Leaving it had been no issue for him, for he traveled alongside his family in search of more Uzumaki.

This village, this house, its training room he currently sat in reading a scroll, would be his home. For in here his family had shared the joy of reunion, as well as the shared pain and comfort of the memory of their lost homeland.

To Soujiro, Uzushio was a distant concept of which he himself could barely visualize. He had not lived through its fall; he did not feel as the rest of the adults of his family did.

That is when Soujiro learnt to associate the concept of a home with a physical place. To the Uzumaki, home had been the place where their ancestors labored and settled where the roots of their lineage had grown through the generations. The island had become part of themselves.

Though the clan lived, the scars had been carved upon their souls. For they had lost something that held a great meaning to them, a legacy.

Soujiro understood that the adults still tried to make a new home for themselves, to give up would bring dishonor to the clan. So they carried the memory of Uzushio with them, nurturing it, hoping that legacy they held dear in their hearts would carry them forward.

They would live on and endure, never forgetting their ancestral home.

Soujiro couldn't be prouder of being an Uzumaki. He may not show it openly, he thought it was unnecessary, his pride was his and his alone, privy to nobody's business but his. It was in the small things, how he kept the bangs of his shaggy hair visible enough in his field of vision, at the sides of his cheeks, at the edge of his nose, he liked seeing his red hair. How he cared for his blade. Or how every morning he would offer a prayer to his mother and his ancestors, contemplating on their life.

He liked staying quiet and observe, one would learn many fascinating things just by paying attention, analyzing every small detail. Though many times it was unnecessary, most of his family wore their hearts on their sleeves, never hiding how they feeling from the world, making everyone know without hesitation nor shame what they thought.

"Soujiro-kuuuun! Want aunty Kushina to make you something to eat?!" His newly acquainted aunt was proof of that as she yelled as she stuck her head down from the top of the stairs with a full bright toothy smile.

The young man raised his head and gave a polite nod; "Yes thank you."

Kushina had to admit that out of her son, and Karin, Soujiro was the most reserved. The boy hardly spoke a word unless directly spoken to by someone. She knew it was partly due to his father, but she wondered if it was also due to the isolation from hiding for all those years.

Maybe being around people his age could change that now. Well she hoped anyways.

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

The Uchiha clan district, a place very much abandoned. Not even the shinobi of the village had a lot of reason to patrol through the area. After all, with no soul around their efforts were better put on other more populated areas of the village. Though once a while a ninja on patrol would pass by.

And Hayate thanked the gods he did, he could not miss a single word of the conversation happening not far from his position behind the roof.

"The situation has grown complicated" He recognized that voice, Baki from the Suna team. "Now more Uzumaki have entered the village. For they too have survived all these time, it means they are talented"

"Ahh, don't worry"

There was no way Hayate didn't recognize that voice, so shrill and raspy, sending shivers down his spine.

He willed himself not to cough, not right now, not when Orochimaru was so near.

"I've made more... preparations just for our Uzumaki friends"

Baki grunted as he folded his arms; "Even for the Red death?"

At that the snake sannin chuckled; "Oh leave Kushina-chan to me. But no worries Suna, the invasion will succeed and your village can show all you are not weak." Slowly Orochimaru sunk into the ground leaving the Suna Jounin alone.

"...Was it right to trust him?" Baki muttered as he shook his head.

In the shadows Hayate took a quiet deep breath; ' _I must tell the Hokage._ '

"It is not polite to eavesdrop. Did they ever teach you that, proctor?"

Hayate froze before slowly turning his head and saw Baki standing beside him. His unveiled eyes glared with pure murderous intent.

For a moment neither moves. Hayate knew he needed to be careful yet decisive, either him or the enemy before him will make the next move. Whoever strikes first will determine the fate of the village.

Hayate puts his faith in the Will of Fire, for sake of his village and his comrades, he cannot fail.

His sword is out in a flash, and his movements are a blur, almost an afterimage, as he dashes towards his opponent, the blade glints with the moonlight.

Baki's hand swipes the air, commands it to gather into a sharp edge, and sends it straight at the Konoha ninja.

Hayate's last thoughts are of Yugao.

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

 _ **See ya for the following chapter!**_


	29. Almost Time

Disclaimer: We do not own Naruto

Co-Author and Beta: Etheral-23

 **Chapter 29: Almost time**

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

Death was part of the shinobi life. They were taught since childhood how to deal with it. A ninja of the village had to move on quickly, and regard the death of their comrades with the highest of honors, for they had given their lives for the village, and there was still their own duty to fulfill.

But the truth of the matter was that death was never easy to deal with. No matter how much they placed it on a pedestal, it was impossible for a shinobi to become an emotionless tool. Perhaps ironically, those who have achieved such a state of emptiness were considered freaks by their fellow ninja, just to show how filled with hypocrisy the old mantra was.

When it came to the death of a loved one, all logic and rational thought went out the window; they were just left with a sudden void in their lives. The tears sometimes would take time to pour, as the person had yet to properly comprehend this void, for the pain to properly dawn in. Their emotions would just stir in a sea of confusion and emptiness.

Which was what Yugao was feeling right now, she must have stood there listening to the Hokage for what felt an eternity. Her surroundings were simple blurs and shapes, the only thing she could make out inside the morgue was the body laid on a table before her.

The ever kind and understanding gaze of the old Kage settled on her as the rest of the ANBU left, except for her. He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "You need time, Yugao" He said, using her own name instead of her code-name. "Don't think about continuing your duties, let the mourning come naturally"

He placed a sword, Hayate's sword, in her hands. Her fingers slowly curled around the sheath, holding it with reverence.

"I am sorry" There was nothing more he could say, so he took his leave. A ninja died but the village move on, as did his duties.

Leaving the morgue wing of the hospital and going down the hall, Hiruzen said nothing as Kushina darted passed him like the wind. If there was one person that Yugao needed it was her sensei. He was glad he sent to word through ANBU to the redhead of the news.

Stopping at the double doors of the morgue the redhead slowly opened them to see Yugao holding her lover's sword as she looked down at his lifeless form on the examination table. Only Hayate's head was uncovered by the cloth draped over him. Yugao was as still as a statue, her eyes unblinking as she merely stared at her dead lover's face. Kushina on her part said nothing as she slowly made her way behind her student and placed comforting hands on the purplette's shoulders.

"Yu-chan..." Her sensei's voice a warm whisper that finally roused the ANBU woman from her trance.

Tears dripped from her eyes as she sluggishly turned her head to gaze at Kushina; "We wanted to start a family..." Yugao spoke in a hushed tone before her body had begun to shake. Quickly her sensei wrapped her in her arms in a strong hug as her student broke down in a silent mournful wail.

Kushina ran a hand through Yugao's hair as she held her crying student close. She had only gotten to meet Hayate a few times when Yugao was off duty. But he was a good and decent lad who was passionate in his own way about the village. And deeply loved her student who was very taken by him.

"I'm here" Kushina soothingly said, her voice barely above a whisper. She channeled every bit of maternal love she had inside, trying to comfort the grieving Yugao.

There was little else she could do now but be at Yugao's side. Kushina understood the pain she was going through all too well, so she would be there for her student, every step of the way. Life may strike them at every turn, trying to break, but Kushina would not let it, as she would not let Yugao crumble either.

It would be up to Yugao to either rise or fall, but even in her grief the ANBU knew she wasn't alone. The warm embrace of her teacher, the miracle that was her presence in her life again, was proof of that. But for now the flood gates had opened, the pain was fresh, and so she grieved. Her teacher held her throughout it all.

Her heart ached at its missing piece.

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

It was far too early in the morning, as far as Naruto was concerned, the skies were still that orange hue of dawn as the sun peered over the horizon. The drying clothes in the balcony of his house swayed gently with the wind while Naruto let out a long dragged out yawn before smacking his lips. He really wasn't built for this...

Unlike his uncle, who was the very image of calmness as he knelt next to his, his eyes closed with the few strands of red hair over his forehead trailing lightly with the breeze.

"How can you and Kya do this?" He mumbled, "Meditation is not for me, I can't think of nothing"

"Meditation is not 'thinking about nothing'" Saito said with humor in his voice, "It's about focus, concentrating into at least one thought, pursuing it as you push out all distractions"

"One thought?"

"A goal or an idea, something you believe in or strive to follow. You focus on that one thing and nothing else."

A squint and cock of the head came from the young Uzumaki; "That sounds way better than trying to not to think of anything." Honestly he wished Jiji explained meditation like that and he might have paid attention to it back then.

Saito chuckled; "It's just how some people perceive meditation to be so they follow it. Tsukiko-baachan's interpretation I feel is much better though personally." The blond grunted before eliciting another yawn. He really was not a morning person, Saito sweatdropped as he shook his head; "Well I do believe you'll be training with me and Samenosuke today."

"Right" Naruto said as he stretched, "Where is uncle Same anyway?"

"Well" Saito tried to look for a tactful way of putting it, "Samenosuke leads a... active lifestyle. He's always going from one place to another and-"

"You don't have to sugar coat it, aunt Lyn already told us he's a man-whore" The blonde Uzumaki drawled.

Ah, trust Lyn to go straight to the point. "But, we love him and we do not judge him" The reply came more mechanical than anything. Naruto guessed he told himself that every day to put up with Samenosuke's antics.

"So, where is he?" Naruto asked again, "Don't think he's in his room"

Saito's eyes dryly stared over and down from the balcony at a nearby bush on the street, "Right over there, can smell the sake from a mile away..."

Naruto's eyes twitched as he looked over and saw roguish man's legs sticking out of a bush. "He's weirder than mom isn't he?"

"No one is more eccentric than Kushina," Saito bluntly retorted; "Samenosuke just follows the beat of his own drum."

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

After waking and nearly getting puked on, the trio left the house for one of the forest training grounds. Samenosuke sat under a tree with a cup of coffee, recovering from his hangover. Saito however sparred against the younger Uzumaki who occasionally had to avoid the highly accurate kunai thrown his way by the sitting roguish Uzumaki.

"How can you throw those things half awake!?" Naruto shouted, ducking under kick.

Samenosuke only smiled; "It's practically an art-form to me after all these years."

The swordsman drone, "It's a miracle how the accumulated alcohol in your veins hasn't killed you yet"

"What can I say? The gods must love me"

"Yes, I have heard they take care of fools"

Samenosuke pouted at him before throwing yet another kunai which Naruto narrowly avoided, but left him wide open for a backhand courtesy of his uncle Saito. The strike threw him to the ground, leading the blonde to groan and rub his jaw in pain.

"You call it foolishness" Samenosuke spoke as he threw his long bangs behind his shoulders, resting his arms behind his head. "I call it _living_ "

Saito crossed his arms as he stared down at Naruto, "Drinking and having sex in excessive amounts isn't just living, it's a vice"

The blond Uzumaki sat up as he shook his head. It's been an experience learning from his two uncles and aunt; though in case of Kya, she had made it clear she would only start teaching him the Namikaze traditions after the exams. All three Uzumakis were very diverse in their skills of taijutsu and if Naruto was honest, he was loving every spar session he had with them.

Saito looked back to Kushina's boy as he stood up; "You are improving, but have long ways to at the taijutsu form Kushina made, its touch different from the norm of the usual Uzu style."

"I'd expect no less from our hime." Samenosuke grinned sipping some coffee; "It's simple yet balanced with practical techniques."

"Besides that," Saito paused; "How would you rate your chances against young Lee?"

The young blond crossed his arms; "If I can get those seals on him I know I have a chance."

"Plus you've been doing so much better with Fūinjutsu." Samenosuke cheekily smiled; "Compared to what you were doing beforehand." Naruto only slumped his head at the older Uzumaki's words.

"My seals were good!"

"To anybody else" The long pony-tailed man pointed out. "But you're Uzumaki, boy. We have higher standards when it comes to sealing"

"Don't have to tell me about it" Naruto grumbled, remembering how much his mother drilled the sealing lessons into his head. "Once mom started going into the more advanced stuff I swear my brain short-circuited for a moment. Kept wrecking my head trying to figure it out"

"Learning comes through a calm mind, Naruto" Saito spoke, though it felt like he was quoting something he himself heard. Maybe from Tsukiko? That woman sure sounded like she knew a lot.

It was then that his stomach growled.

"And from a full stomach!" Samenosuke laughed, "Come on kid, let's grab a bite"

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

Ahhh Ichiraku Ramen, he could smell it from a block away by now. It always brought a smile to his face to eat there, good company just made it better. He was happy his family (who perhaps while not as ramen happy as he and his mother, but still very fond of it) had grown to like this place that meant so much for him.

"Ayame-nee!" He called out happily.

The young woman turned to him with a smile, "Naruto, welcome baAH!" She yelped as Samenosuke nearly leapt over the counter to be face to face to her.

"Well hello there beautiful~" Naruto and Saito face faulted, not again... "Funny how I keep finding you here"

"I-I work here" She embarrassingly pointed out. "Please can we skip this whole 'thing', my father is getting annoyed by it..." Said father's grunt could be heard from the back.

"Ahhh!" He dramatically placed a hand over his chest, "To have you so near yet so far away. One day my sweet, one day" He winked at her.

She took their orders as fast and possible and tried to avoid eye contact with the man who kept leering at her.

"Yeesh" Naruto muttered. "This is the fourth time you've flirted with Ayame, and I've seen you flirt with five girls and six dudes... and my mom" He said the last part with accusation.

"What can I say?" Samenosuke shrugged with a grin. "I live in the now, my boy."

"Yeah, mom calls it 'whoring around'" At that, Saito cracked a small grin.

"Bah!" He scoffed, "Hime can call it whatever she likes, and I don't care. I lived a good part of my life hiding from the world and jumping at every shadow just to survive. And you what I learned?" He leant closer to the boy in his seat. "That ain't living, that's just not-dying. So I drink lots, I eat lots, and sleep around a lot, because the sake and food taste better when you believe it could be your last, because any company you enjoy could be the last you ever have."

Naruto could only stare at his uncle, impressed by the intensity in his words. He was usually so laid back about everything. Saito looked down as he held his hands in front of his face, he understood what Samenosuke said, and even agreed with it in part. Hiding your entire life wasn't living...

"So!" Samenosuke grinned widely as he once again rested his arms behind his head. "Coming to this village, best decision we ever made! The family's back together, and I get to enjoy this maddening adventure we call life with them. To do anything less is an insult to the clan"

Saito only groaned; "Naruto, while yes are clan is known for being rowdy. Please don't take every life lesson from Samenosuke."

"What, because mom would hit him? How's that different from any other day?"

"No" He thumbed over to the roguish Uzumaki; "She'd kill him."

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

Ino liked to think she was helping. Just... sitting on the sidelines next to Karin in the training ground, while Hinata was the one who sparred with Sakura.

"You can do it!" She cheered, as though this was an official fight.

Yeah, she was totally helping.

Hinata's finger strikes moved with such speed the Yamanaka had trouble following them, but Sakura was doing a much better job than she herself would if she were in the pinkette's shoes, evading those quick jabs and still managing to counter attack in her own. The two seemed locked in a sort of stalemate, Sakura kept herself from having her own chakra points closed off, which gave enough room for Hinata to evade her devastating punches.

Okay, Ino realized she wasn't helping as much as she would have liked. But really, Hinata was the best training partner at the moment considering whom Sakura would be facing in the finals. It was honestly a bit surprising the Hyuuga had agreed at all, Hinata was such a sweet little thing but... her attacks, the precisions, the intensity by which she struck. She sparring a fire that was rather out of character for the usually shy Hyuuga.

It was not out of a desire to fight, but something greater that motivated her, she wanted Sakura to adapt and learn how to fight a Byakugan wielder.

Beside the blond Karin cleaned her glasses; "Has Hinata ever fought like this?"

"Not even back during our academy days," Ino muttered watching Sakura just miss a sharp palm strike for the chest. "She was always so timid and shy. Still is actually, never seen this side before. Guess she really wants Sakura to beat Neji."

Overhearing the conversation between the two Hinata spoke up; "It's not about beating Neji-niisan. I want to save him!"

The other three girls stared up with surprise at the sudden words that came out with surprising fervor. Sakura stopped mid attack and lowered her stance, while Hinata became aware of the looks they were giving her she quickly returned to her usual shyness, gripping the hem of her shirt as she blushed in embarrassment.

Karin understood more and more why aunt Kushina would glomp the girls into tight hugs.

"You want to save Neji?" Sakura muttered in confusion.

Hinata's gaze flickered as she tried to look for the right words, somehow make them understand, "Neji-niisan... he is lost" She said, "He lives with so much anger, all he can see are the mistakes the clan did"

The Hyuuga Incident... as their career as shinobi progressed; Sakura and Ino had been informed of what happened that day. It was important to be aware of previous conflicts with the other villages and the repercussions they had. Karin only knew about it because under Orochimaru it was her job to know these things.

Kumo in their treachery kidnapped Hinata, sought to take the Byakugan from her and extract its secrets. Her father killed the would-be kidnapper in retaliation, and Kumo had the gall to demand compensation... which Konoha gave. They were taught not to question their leader, but Sakura honestly did not agree with the Sandaime's decision.

A Byakugan in exchange for the life of their fallen shinobi, namely the one belonging who had taken his life, clan leader Hiashi's.

But Konoha pulled a gambit of their own, a body had been supplied, that of his identical twin, Hizashi. Neji's father.

It was then that Sakura understood just how much bitter Neji was, why he viewed the world like he did. His father had been discarded as a tool because he was of the servant branch, in order to spare the main branch. She couldn't understand what it was, to be a servant all your life, for your life to be thrown away so coldly. She was a ninja of Konoha, if she were to give her life for her village then it was because that's what she wanted, because she loved her home and would die for it, just like many other of her comrades.

But to hear how the servant branch was treated, it was only by the smallest of technicalities that it wasn't considered full slavery.

"He thinks he is trapped" Hinata continued, her voice mournful. "That this life was his fate, and fate binds us all" She turned her pleading eyes to the pinkette. "Which is why I'm sparring with you, Sakura-san, you know how to fight him" She bowed at the waist. "Please, save my cousin"

Sakura took a small step back, overtaken by the sudden act. "S-Save him, me? Hinata, I-I don't even know how to talk to him" He could barely understand how Neji felt, who was she to even attempt to make him see life differently?

"You don't need to tell him anything" The dark blue haired Hyuuga said, holding her bow. "All you need to do is winning. I heard how he talks about you, a civilian born ninja; he thinks your fate is the same as every other ninja that comes from a civilian family"

Cannon fodder, just numbers to throw to the enemy, or merely non-combatants whose roles would be more on logistics, medicine, code-cracking and the like. A ninja who should not get in the way of those with real talent.

Sakura understood she had a steep hill to climb if she wanted to be viewed as more than just some no-name Kunoichi. More so to shed away that fan-girl persona she once had and the foolish reason she became a ninja...

While she might be still searching for the why she wants to still be a ninja, she was proud she had gotten so far compared to what she used to be. But it irked greatly that some people out there would still see her as nothing more than cannon fodder.

She was going to prove she was more than a disposable tool, and she'd prove it by bringing Neji down a peg or two. "If breaking his jaw will knock some sense into him I'll try." Wow, she has been hanging around Naruto and Kushina-sensei too much.

"He will not take you seriously, but that does not mean he will go easy on you" Hinata warned her, "Neji-niisan overpowers his opponents, he'll close your chakra points first chance he gets, and hit the right parts to immobilize you"

"Lucky for me, he'll have to charge head first" The pinkette replied with a smile, "Don't worry, I've been preparing just the thing to take him out. You said it yourself, he doesn't take me seriously so that means he won't prepared"

Hinata slowly stood straight, giving Sakura a heartfelt and thankful smile, "T-Thank you. I wish I wouldn't need to ask you this but... I don't think I can get through to Neji-niisan myself"

"Yeesh" Ino let out an explosive breath, "The guy tries to kill you, and here you are completely concerned for him. Doesn't sound really sound fair to me"

"I can't help it" The Hyuuga said, "He's my family" She said as though that was all the explanation needed.

"...Ugh, you're too good for your own good, Hinata"

* * *

 **XxX ~ the next morning ~ XxX**

* * *

As the morning sun rose over the training area Jiraiya nodded to himself; "Well Red actually pulled it off." Kakashi glanced at him while reading; "Training those kids and getting herself back into shape in just the span of a month."

"Kushina-sama always did have the talent," Kakashi responded and Jiraiya took notice of light joyous tone from the young Jōnin's voice. Kushina's presence no doubt being the cause of it.

Not far from them stood the topic of their discussion wearing plain clothes, sparring against both Saito and Samenosuke. "It's more than talent, its drive. And Kushina has had that since she was a brat."

Well, that drive had paid off. In a month Kushina had recovered a lot of her fitness, with the help of her many friends and constant training. Her body now much more toned and athletic, having built back up the muscle she had lost during her pregnancy. The Uzumaki woman would not settle for less, and so submitted herself to a regime that would make Gai nod in approval. When she wasn't training her body, she had been catching up in all she missed during these twelve years. Abusing shadow clones like that to read on many old reports was migraine inducing, but necessary.

Always pushing herself, she did not take no for an answer when she asked (dragged) her cousins to spar with her. The two Uzumaki men were currently engaging her through different styles, Saito with his straight forward swordsmanship with his practice wooden sword, and Samenosuke with trickery via his various tools and seal use.

Kushina, holding a wooden sword of her own, parried the various strikes that came at her at quick succession. Right, left, upper left, center, she spun around struck, only for Saito to dodge out of the way, her wooded blade hitting only the grass. Samenosuke jumped in with a spinning kick, taking her by surprise, it landed against her face, making her retreat a few steps.

"A shame to hurt that pretty face of yours, but it's for your own g-" His words died in his mouth as the bokken swiped right over his head, it would have hit him had he not dodged at the last second. Kushina followed with a knee strike directed straight at his now lowered face, forcing him to shield himself with his hands. They caught the blunt of the strike and pushed himself back, gaining distance as he threw several kunai at her.

Kushina deflected the swift barrage of metal with ease, making sure none of them stuck to her bokken. She did not notice two of them had missed and went pass her on purpose. The moment they embedded themselves on the ground seals in them activated, conjuring up a small barrier wall behind her. Samenosuke dashed forward and jumped, kicking her bokken away with a strong strike, as he landed he followed with a series of quick jabs and open palm strikes, to which Kushina retaliated with the same style.

Uzumaki style martial arts, developed to make use of their sealing ability with their palms without forsaking the use of closed fist to weaken their enemy and deliver devastating blows. Kushina slowly gave a bit of ground thanks to his ceaseless advance, she parried a jab close to her face and struck with one of her own towards his stomach, and Samenosuke blocked it with his knee before using the same raised leg to throw a quick series of kicks.

Kushina was pushed back, and suddenly found herself colliding with solid air. It was then that she noticed the barrier behind her, taking advantage of her distraction; Samenosuke raised his closed fist and delivered a straight punch, only for Kushina to duck out the way just in time, letting his hand hit the barrier.

By his grunt, she imagined that must have hurt. Kushina snapped her fingers as she raised her left arms, a series of ink-black lines appeared on her arm, chakra circulating through her limb as her as adrenaline rushed through her veins. Her fist closing, veins rose over her forearm as her arm muscles flexed and bulged with the sudden surge of power. She let out a strong battle cry as she delivered at the punch straight to his gut, knocking the air out of him.

Samenosuke's body flew through the air before painfully hitting the ground and rolling away. A touch excessive for practice but Kushina would lying if she said some of his ceaseless flirting didn't have anything to do with that, or how he wouldn't reign in that lecherous personality of his even when the kids were around. She already had enough fears of Naruto being influenced by Jiraiya, she didn't need any more.

She let out a soft breath as she let the seals in her arm fade and remain inactive, it was better not to use this technique so much. She lacked the pinpoint chakra precision to use her adoptive mother's constant monstrous strength, but this was a good alternative as any.

The sudden rush of wind alerted her, and Saito was upon her in a second, with her bokken gone she was at the mercy of his strikes, forcing her to dodge without the ability to counterattack against his swift slashes.

So she did what she always would, and improvised.

Her teeth gnashed as she caught the bokken in her hands (catching a wooden sword swung at you at full speed was more painful than most people thought...) much to Saito's surprise if the small widening of his eyes was any indication. She channeled her chakra through the weapon, a seal array quickly formed where her hands touched the blade. Saito couldn't react in time as the temperature of his weapon rose exponentially, literally becoming too hot to touch, and was forced to let it go. The blade fell to the ground, smoking, almost ready to burst into flames.

"Time!" The Gama Sannin yelled ending the spar. "I'd say after an hour of watching you two face Red down, she is back into fighting shape."

Samenosuke who still lay on the ground lifted his hand and gave a shaky thumbs up; "Glad we could help out our Hime." He groaned out painfully.

"You're impressive Kushina," Saito grinned as he whipped off the sweat from his face. "I see why you became an ANBU." He had always remembered how fierce his cousin was when she was training. And she had never once lost that intensity if any of their sessions were anything to go by.

' _When it comes to battle, be as ruthless as a dragon._ ' Kushina had always taken Tsukiko-Baachan's words to heart.

After helping a very sore Samenosuke to his feet, Kakashi gave the three some water and a towel to wipe off the sweat. "Good to see you back in shape Kushina-sama." The silver haired Jōnin eye-smiled.

"What have I said about dropping the 'sama'?" Kushina dryly retorted with a deadpan glare.

"Well, here I thought you would appreciate someone giving you the respect you so clearly deserve" Kakashi's tone was very exaggerated in its cheerfulness. "After all, didn't you run around telling people to acknowledge you as the great prankster queen of the village?"

"...You're trolling me" Kushina said with furious realization, "ME. Ohoho you don't know what you're getting into, kid" She promised with vengeance, "You've seen what I can do to people who annoy me, don't start a war you can't possibly win"

Kakashi had his book out, as though it had always been, his sole visible eye focused on its pages before giving her a quick glance, "Hmm? Yeah sure"

"GRRR!" The Uzumaki woman growled out fiercely, stomping the ground like a child, "Don't ignore me!"

"Oh by the way," Kakashi lazily spoke ignoring Kushina's tantrum; "Shouldn't you and Jiraiya-sama be heading to the Hokage tower by now?" At that everyone paused; "Wasn't the Mizukage coming today?"

At that both Jiraiya and Kushina blinked before yelling; "SHIT!" and ran off for the tower.

Saito sighed as he shook his head; "Kushina hasn't lost her absentmindedness either." Samenosuke only chuckled back.

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

Hiruzen only stared dryly at both Jiraiya and Kushina who stood on either side of him. Both had literally mad dashed through the village and leapt through his open window just as the ANBU told the Sandaime the Mizukage was in the village.

"Glad to see you two remembered the meeting with the Mizukage." The Hokage's words were as dry as the Suna desert.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world Jiji," Kushina chuckled weakly and shrunk under Hiruzen's glare.

"At any rate," the old Kage huffed; "What do we know of the Godaime Mizukage?"

Jiraiya grunted; "Not a whole lot. Just that her name is Mei Terumi; Kiri has always been the most secretive of the Shinobi villages."

With those words a knock came to the door and the Sandaime gave permission to enter. Upon opening the door they were greeted with the sight of a tall and very beautiful and slender fair skinned woman with ankle length auburn hair in a herringbone style pattern, a top-knot tied with a dark blue band, and with four bangs at the front hiding one of her green eyes. She wore a blue dress with long sleeves that went just below the knees. The right front side was kept open by a zipper and went down from the waist. Underneath her dress was a chain mesh which showed just a bit of her ample cleavage.

Kushina could not stop herself from whistling; "Oh now that is one hot lady I wouldn't mind having dinner with."

"Oh sure" Jiraiya drawled, "When I eye a lady, it's creepy, but when you do it then it's suddenly fine! There is some female on male prejudice here..."

"You know, I would take those words seriously if you weren't drooling right about now" Kushina shot back, making Jiraiya quickly rubbed his mouth.

Perhaps it was foolish of Hiruzen to expect these two to behave in such a delicate occasion like the meeting between two Kages, he briefly entertained the thought of vanishing them to the desert, and ahhh how simple would his life be then... A man could dream.

The lady Kage regarded them with a lifted eyebrow, "I seem to have arrived at a bad time"

"Oh don't mind them" The Hokage waved it off, "They're two of my best, but unfortunately they're not quite there in the head"

The auburn haired woman actually giggled at that, "If you were to meet some of my shinobi, you would not be complaining about yours" She placed a hand upon her chest as she gave a short bow, "It is an honor to meet you, Sarutobi-dono. I am Mei Terumi, Fifth Mizukage of Kirigakure no Sato"

"Welcome to Konohagakure no Sato."

"I must say," Mei inclined her head; "Receiving your scroll was quite a surprise. At present my village is still recovering from the brutality of Yagura's reign. So believe when I say your offer of help peaked my interest."

"I understand if my actions were quite bold, but after seeing the comradely of our Genin in the prelims I felt it was worth a try." Hiruzen spoke honestly.

The Mizukage crosses her arms under her bust; "However, before I entertain this proposal I must bring up a matter."

"Yes?"

Her visible green eye shifted uneasily, "At the final moments of the rebellion, I fought against Yagura. Believe me, it was no easy challenge fighting a jinchuuriki, but in the end I prevailed" Her words carried a double meaning which the leaf ninja understood; she boasted her power, a warning in case they planned of backstabbing her. A tactic they themselves had employed in the past. "In his last moments, Yagura... wasn't himself" She shook her head, a sad glint evident in her eyes, "Or perhaps it'd be more fitting to say, he was finally acting like himself once again"

Hiruzen exchanged a confused look with Kushina and Jiraiya, "What do you mean?"

"Yagura was not always the tyrant of the Bloody Mist," She stressed, "But one day he began changing, it was subtle in some aspects, he still carried his personal life and affairs like always, but the decisions he started making once he became Kage, they were just... We are all very familiar with the kind of things we ninjas do, but Yagura's actions were seldom based in logic, often they were just pointless and petty cruelty. He spread such a strong anti-bloodline sentiment throughout the Land of Water, lead the purges and executed everyone who even dared question him"

She paused for a moment, and though she presented herself as calm and collected in her voice, there was no denying the underlying feeling of grief in her voice, carefully kept from becoming too evident. A Kage could not show weakness before another Kage.

"He was my friend once" She said, "Kind, thoughtful, he took on his role as Jinchuuriki with pride and the village respected him for it... The Yagura that lead the Mist was not the man I grew up with. As he laid dying..." 'At my hand', they suspected she truly wanted to say but couldn't. "...it was like he had woken up from a dream. He cried and mourned all the things he had done as Mizukage, apologizing because he had not been strong enough to resist"

The Konoha ninja remained silent.

"It wasn't the power that came with the title, or anything like that, he told what he could not resist" She leveled an accusatory glare at them, "was the powerful genjutsu that took control of his mind... casted upon him, by a Sharingan"

They fell silent, even the hidden ANBU were still like statues as both Kushina's and Jiraiya's eyes went wide in pure shock. The Sandaime remained unreadable as Mei continued; "Now I am not saying your village or the Uchiha were responsible for the acts in my nation. But the Sharingan _is_ from the Fire Country, I cannot rule out those possibilities"

"Did Yagura-dono have any details on this Sharingan user before his death?"

A sigh came from the Mizukage; "A man in a black hooded who wore a mask with single right eye-hole." As her words left her lips she saw the look of utter shock from all three.

Kushina's blood turned cold as time stood still to her. Her eyes had grown hauntingly wide at the description of the man that plagued her nightmares. "It's him..." Her voice was a whisper but garnered everyone's attention. Soon shock became boiling rage as she gnashed with pure murderous hate glowing from her eyes. The killer intent that flooded the room made the Mizukage blink before seeing the Red Death roar and slammed a fist through the wall cracking it. "IT'S HIM!" She screamed in utter malice.

Her breathing was ragged pants of barely contained rage, images of that hateful figure that haunted her dreams flashed back with vivid intensity. Her fingers twitched, almost wanting to reach for a weapon so she could stab something, anything, and pretend she stabbing that bastard's heart.

Kushina's head sharply turned as she felt large hands upon her shoulder, she saw Jiraiya giving her an understanding look, trying to calm her down. She saw in his eyes that he too was feeling murderous anger wash through his very being, but needed to be held in check at the moment.

After taking a few calming breathes, Kushina went over to one of the chairs and sat down, pressing a hand against her face, reigning in the rage and killing intent.

All throughout the Mizukage just stared with wide eyed at the display; she turned to the Hokage, gaze demanding an explanation. "I see now" Hiruzen said warily, "Than I must be forthcoming about some secrets of our own""

And so he told her, every last detail. The Uzumaki's former status as Jinchuuriki, the night of her son's birth, all the accounts and description of the event that Kushina had provided him with. He left nothing out, for the Konoha and Kiri now shared a target who presented a threat for both of them.

After the long explanation, the Mizukage had to sit down. She was currently rubbing her eyes, trying to fight back against the growing headache. "Merciful Suijin" She muttered in disbelief, "This... This changes everything"

Hiruzen nodded grimly; "Indeed, whoever this man is has caused pain and misery in both our villages." He gazed towards Kushina who only glared at the floor. "We have a common enemy."

"Indeed we do," Mei only looked at the redhead with mournful yet understanding eyes. "And because of this man who caused harm in both our villages I shall agree to your alliance." She paused; "Kushina-dono." The Uzumaki woman glanced to the Mizukage; "If this man is found in our lands he will suffer, I promise you."

Kushina only gave a nod before looking back to the floor.

A long sigh came from the Hokage; "Whatever your village might be need of you have just to ask. I will see what I can grant you Mei-dono."

"That can wait, for now let's all retire for the day and rest ourselves for the Chunin Exams." All were in agreement on that sentiment.

They could prepare their vengeance another day.

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

Ever since Karin and then the others had arrived, the house had been rather busy all the time. It was rare to find just himself and his mother by themselves in the training room. Well, sort of since Yugao was upstairs resting on the couch. His mother had explained what happened and told everyone to give the woman space to mourn.

However instead of training, Kushina was showing her son a scrapbook with old photos.

Naruto had a feeling that Hayate's death and seeing her student in pain stirred up bad memories, fresh ones even. He sure did feel bad; even though he met him in passing he seemed to be a nice guy. Maybe it was her way of taking her mind off things, or just when faced with this tragedy it was best to remember those who passed away with those who still remained with you.

The album was pretty much a record of the entirety of his mother's life, since her childhood in Uzushio to her days as an ANBU and jōnin. She would point at the pictures that she thought were more interesting and went on a long explanation on what happened that day, down to what kind of meal she had (it was ramen of course, it was always ramen).

Naruto smiled at seeing the pictures of his father, he always looked so happy and serene, a trait that complimented his mother's overwhelming joy and excitement.

"This one is when your dad got assigned his own team" Kushina explained, "We all went to celebrate afterwards"

Naruto stared fascinated at the image of the people who had joined the party; it was pretty much all the parents from his class in the academy, even Hinata's father. The blonde's blue eyes squinted at the sight of the much smaller silver haired Hatake in the picture.

"Oh come on, even then he wore a mask?"

"Hehehe" Kushina giggled at his reaction, "It's a family thing sweetie, Hatake only show their faces to family. Sakumo-sensei always felt comfortable with everyone on the village so he didn't bother with one"

A snort came from the blond as he saw two other beside a young Kakashi. A girl with a brunette hair in a bob-cut with purple markings on her cheeks. And a goofy looking boy with short spiky black hair and wearing orange googles. "Who are those two?"

He saw his mother's cheerfulness become a mournful; "Rin Nohara and Obito Uchiha... They were Kakashi's teammates when your dad was their sensei. Both died during separate missions. Kakashi's Sharingan came from Obito before he died." Kushina paused; "Rin was always a sweet girl. Would have had made one the best medical ninja with her talents."

He paused at the sudden sense of sadness coming from his mother, "And Obito?"

"He was such a goofball. His parents had died when he was very young so never knew him. He never fit the mold of a typical Uchiha and was the black sheep among them." There was a hint of anger in her voice when saying that; "I loved him like a son..."

Her eyes shifted through a myriad of emotions, from pain and nostalgia, to fondness and love, "I always was tough on that knucklehead because somebody needed to keep him in line" She smiled at him, "I can't tell you how happy I am, that you ended up being a lot like him" She pressed a big kiss against his forehead, it was a rather embarrassing gesture for him but he loved it all the same.

Naruto understood Kakashi-sensei a lot better now, the death of his father, his teammates, his sensei, everyone he cared about... It was a miracle that the scarecrow was still sane. It explained why his sensei never really made any contact with him when he was little, he was afraid of losing someone dear to him again, history just repeating itself over and over. Most people would have cracked a long time ago, yet Kakashi-sensei endured, ready to continue serving the village without asking anything in return.

Kakashi-sensei was the strongest person he knew, Naruto realized.

Kushina shifted the pages of the album, showing moments in her life when she was even younger. "Ohohoho, this one" She laughed, pointing at a picture of herself when she was a kid, Naruto recognized uncle Saito, uncle Samenosuke and aunt Lyn, plus there were a few other kids he didn't recognize. They were sitting around a woman in robes, her long crimson locks were pulled back by a hair piece, and they were all smiling at the camera. "Here is us as children with Tsukiko-baachan"

So this was the famed seal master among masters he had heard so much about. Looking at her, she held the same kind of eyes Jiji did, Naruto thought.

"This was just before we pulled a prank on baachan... and got the spanking of our lives" The Uzumaki woman shivered. "When she was disciplining you, she made sure you learnt your lesson THOROUGHLY. With baachan, no butts were spared..."

Naruto paled at the thought before he shook his head. He recalled vividly the times he was caught by Jiji with some of his pranks he had done around the village. And the ones he had done on the Sandaime himself, being chased by an irate Kage after messing with his prized Icha-Icha novels was an experience.

A part of him should not have been so surprised learning it was Ero-Sennin who made those smut books.

Flipping a page the blond took notice of a picture of two people who looked like a couple. A tall stern man with long red hair, violet eyes, and a goatee standing beside a beautiful woman with hair as long as his mother's with red eyes and a calm smile. "Who are these two?"

"Those are your grandparents, my parents, Daisuke and Manami Uzumaki."

At that shock etched on Naruto's face; "This is the first you ever said anything about them."

"Sorry about that," Kushina rubbed the top of her son's head; "Sad thing is I vaguely remember much of anything about my mother. She died when I was very young. Dad was the clan head of the Uzumaki, so he was busy a lot." She explained, "Taking care of the village and by extension the clan, was a pretty taxing job" All those nights she would find him on his study, organizing missions, speaking with the dragons, dealing with the other countries. "And trust me when I say the clan was the whole village, we intermarried with so many smaller families and clans that eventually they were all assimilated, and we ended up with multiple branches. The main branch our leaders, the craftsman branch who made everything, the lore keeper branch who kept our and research, the seal master who further studied seals and other type of esoteric knowledge, and the steel branch who were our frontline warriors. Though we all were equal" She said with pride. "There was no hard rule about the branches; anyone could learn anything from the other branches if they wanted to"

"Wow..." Naruto muttered in surprise, "Everyone in the village was a redhead huh?"

"Just about" She grinned, "Eventually, everyone in Uzushio had the last name Uzumaki. And dad lead them all, the position of Kage, clan head, village and country leader, it was all one job"

"Yeesh" His shoulders slumped, "Did it bother you, that grandpa was so busy all the time?"

"It did sometimes" Kushina admitted, "But, as I grew I began to understand things more. I had Tsukiko-baachan to raise me and educate me while I lived in Uzu" Her tone was melancholic. "What I do remember about my mom was that she absolutely loved the sea, she would always take me to the beach in the mornings..."

"...What would they think of me?" Naruto's voice a quiet hush as he stared at his grandparents.

"Oh honey." Kushina wrapped her arms around her son and kissed the top of his head; "They would have loved you and be proud of you as I am."

Naruto's heart swelled at the thought; "Can you tell me more about grandpa?"

"Oh when he smiled, when he was truly happy, he had the same smile you and I have"

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

Beyond the territories of human kingdoms, a valley of mountains rose from the earth like pillars; more poetic tongues would describe them like the fingers from the earth gods that outstretched seeking to grasp the sky. In these rocky earthen formations, plant life would still flourish, capping the tops with trees aplenty.

Upon the faces of these mountains one could find many houses and palaces of great size, built into the great stone pillars themselves. The craftsmanship required to make such a construction possible was not of human hands, indeed, for there was nothing that connected the buildings to one another but the air itself.

Dragons needed no bridges after all.

Not many humans had set foot in these sacred grounds, but those who were welcomed were considered kin to the dragons. In the palace of the great chief, a great structure of wood and stone, traditional in every aspect with the architecture of elevated high walls and gently curved tiled roofs, was one such guest welcomed by the dragons. A very old and very dear friend.

"They were very energetic" Her feminine voice said with humor.

A deep rumble was her reply, **"Indeed, the people of the whirlpool never change. It is comforting"**

"I cannot describe the feeling when I saw all of them," Tomoe muttered in a warm tone. "Knowing some people of Uzu had survived."

 **"There is likely more in hiding. Sadly I am uncertain of how many,"** Genryu grumbled in response.

"We have to keep on hope" The white haired woman said with conviction, a hopeful smile present in her lips. "Shishou's clan is stubborn just like her, I know more survived and that one day they'll reclaim their home"

The silver dragon smile in return, looking down at the sage from his great height, **"That'll be a joyful day indeed"**

Tomoe held her smile, even as it weakened somewhat at the thought of her teacher. "Do you think... that it is possible shishou is still out there?" She dared not believe otherwise, she could NOT believe otherwise. Tsukiko was the strongest woman she knew, both in character and power, she would not die in the darkness, forgotten and lost to the world.

 **"It is more than a possibility"** Genryu said with passion, **"It is a certainty, I can feel it in my bones. I know my sister lives, I just know it!"**

Siblings often possessed a strong bond, Genryu and Tsukiko, born of the same mother, were no different. He would never allow himself to even entertain the thought his beloved elder sister was dead, his soul cried out that she yet lived, he'd dive straight to the depths of Yomi to find her if needed.

But even still, the years of her absence weighted on him, for so long he'd been looking for her, calling every favor he could, scouring the corners of the skies and the seas and yet...

No, Genryu would never give up hope. For he knew Tsukiko would never give up on him.

"It makes me happy" Tomoe smiled gently, tilting her head as she closed her eyes. "That shishou was surrounded by people who love her so much"

The dragon was happy he could share these moments with Tsukiko's apprentice, someone who knew her and cared for her so much. One day, they would reunite with her, and take her to see a clan reforged in hope and love.

They could spend hours talking about his sister, but the dragon chief understood there was a time to put such feelings aside when more pressing matters presented themselves.

 **"So"** He spoke, his voice low and growly, **"I understand the toad sage has shared with you his information"**

Tomoe's eyes gained a sharp edge, "He has" Taking out a set of pictures from a folder; she spread them out between them. "His informant in this organization called 'Akatsuki' has confirmed various characteristics and identities of its members... Including that their leader possess the powerful dōjutsu known as the Rinnegan"

Genryu growled in distaste, they perhaps owned a great deal to the Sage of Six Paths, he had after all acted alongside his brother to stop that rampaging alien that was their mother. But a part of him couldn't help but feel displeased they even relied on him to begin with... were it not that all other individuals that could have done something (and that number was woefully short...) had been busy at the time.

It had not been too long ago, relatively speaking, when the world had fallen in chaos and broken. Much needed to be fixed at the time.

And then this sage spread the use of the rediscovered onmyōdō which he called 'ninshu' (that made Genryu roll his eyes) to the humans, giving them access to a greater weapon once again, spreading the knowledge of the mystical arts, magic that should have been carefully taught to them instead of being widespread so much.

But the damage had been done...

Tomoe stroke her chin, deep in thought much like the dragon. "From what the toads told me, this Rinnegan possess nothing short of godlike power. Not too surprising considering the source comes from the sheer primal power stolen from the world"

 **"It is a mistake that should have been corrected"**

"A touch too late for regrets my friend, for now let's focus on the present" The red eyed woman said, as her eyes took in every detail from the photos in front of her. "As I'm lead to understand, these 'Bijuu' have not had very peaceful interactions with neither humans nor beasts"

 **"There was a time in which that fake nine tailed fox stayed with fox clan"** Genryu replied, **"But as I've been told, he has long since fallen out of their grace. His constant rampages through human settlements were not tolerated"**

"And now his jailer is one of shishou's descendants, like the last two were" The sage sighed. "It is what it is... Hmm, Akatsuki is proving to be a growing threat, if their plans for the bijuu are like we imagine then the risk is too great"

 **"The Rinnegan wielder must be disposed of"** The dragon agreed. **"But at the moment we cannot act, not until we have more Intel"**

Her eyes hardened when they settled upon a particular picture, for a moment flashing with a burning glow. "What worries me the most... is this one" She tapped her finger on the photo.

Short silver hair slicked, a wide grin and dark eyes... what was truly remarkable about him was his supposed immortality.

And the medallion around his neck.

 **"The Cult..."** Genryu growled dangerous. **"I would have written it off as a coincidence, but for someone with such abilities to be part of Akatsuki, it is too convenient"**

"It means the Cult is acting in the shadows without anyone knowing. They follow in their predecessor's footsteps, playing their hand in secret, manipulating, sowing chaos and conflict wherever their reach extends"

Tomoe took a deep breath, fighting back the ancient rage within her. Her eyes seemed to glow as her pupil blazed from black to white momentarily.

"We need answers, and I will get them even if I have to rip them out from this cultist"

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

 _ **For those who wish to be in the know:**_

Next is Dragon Age Origins: Dovahkiin 'Two Chapters'

Followed by a chapter of Anbu Sennin: A Final Fantasy VII story

Then back to Naruto: Shoton of Konoha 'Two Chapters'

C-ya!


	30. Chunin Final Exams Act: 1

**Disclaimer** : We do not own Naruto

 **Co-Author and Beta** : Etheral-23

 **So sorry for the delays folks, life being life it likes to keep so you damn busy…**

 **Chapter 30: Chunin final exams Act I**

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX ~ xx ~ XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

The skies were clear as the sun shone over the shinobi village of Konohagakure, which had garnered a much busier crowd than normal roaming its dirt streets. Numerous people ranging to citizens from the land of fire, wind, and some surprisingly from water had gathered to the village within a month's time. All were buzzing in excitement as the finals of the Chunin exams had begun.

In the streets, traveling vendors had set up stands to make quite a bit of profit during today's event. Amaguriama, Ichiraku, the Dango shop, and many other establishments were busy with orders as the crowd made their way to the enormous open dome arena with three massive stone buildings which held the seats for the audience, including private areas for nobility who came to observe as well. Inside the arena was an open grass area for the hopeful Genin to show their skills and advance to Chunin.

The day had finally come, the final test to prove they were ready for the title and responsibility of being a chunin.

Naruto took a deep breath through his nostrils and slowly exhaled. The blonde stood in a line along with the other chunin candidates, his pink haired teammate was at his right, and his gaze briefly went over her to peer at Lee who stood at the other end of the line.

The bowl cut haired boy was unusually still, but there was no mistaking the smile on his lips. Lee was eager, and so was he if he was being honest.

His eyes eventually up towards the multiple rows of the arena, there he saw his relatives sitting amidst his other friends and fellow ninja of his age. Uncle Same had somehow fashioned a large flag that had 'UZU FOREVER' written on it, waving it around, uncaring that he was making the people around him uncomfortable. Lyn waved at him, cheering him on. While Kya sat perfectly still next to her, seems his aunt really managed to get her to come.

On the row behind them he managed to spot a woman who looked vaguely familia- He blushed as the memories came back. Right, the woman he had collided with all those days ago. Kuro... Kuro-something.

Man, so there were so many people in the arena, watching them...

"Nervous?" Sakura prompted.

"Pfft" He snorted, "Who me? ...Maybe a bit"

"Me too" She confessed, "But just wait, Team 7 will all make it to chunin" Sakura said with outmost confidence.

Naruto gave her a beaming smile.

"If Sasuke shows up that is" Sakura gloomily added.

And just like that his smile was obliterated. Right... Sasuke had yet to show up. Oh what the hell were you doing, Kakashi-sensei?

"The Chunin exams are not something you can arrive _FASHIONABLY_ late dattebane!" Kushina's voiced roared at the entrance to the arena. The Genin prospects looked curious before sweat dropping at the sight of Kakashi being dragged on the ground by a golden chain from an irritated Kushina Uzumaki who wore her old Konoha Jounin gear with short sleeves. Her Hitai-ate wrapped around her head with two bangs coming down from both sides and the rest of her hair in a high ponytail.

Walking beside her in a black shirt and white shorts was Sasuke who dryly glare ahead. Kakashi weakly chuckled as the Uzumaki redhead kept dressing him down as if he was a child. "It's for the dramatic effect Kushina-sama."

"Drop the 'sama' already! And do you want me to show a dramatic effect on your head?!"

Naruto only rubs his hand over his face while Sakura weakly sighed. They just had to have the weirdo for their sensei didn't they? The two said nothing as their teammate soon stood beside them

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

"Hard to believe that man is the Thousand Jutsu Kakashi;" Saito droned beside his son while Lyn and Samenosuke laughed at the sight. Kya remained impassive merely glancing over to see Karin coming with that Yamanaka and Hyuuga girls and their teams. The bifocal wearing Uzumaki grinned; "Guess who I found."

Ino gave the peace sign to them beside a shy Hinata; "What's up guys!"

Samenosuke grinned; "More the merrier, come on and sit down you lot."

"Glad you think so" Said Team 10's sensei as he took a sit next to his male students; he gave Kurenai a teasing glace as she sat next to Hinata. "Shame your team couldn't make it to the finals eh Kurenai?"

"Your team didn't either" She dryly pointed out.

Asuma snorted, "Oh they'll be ready for the next exams, and this was just a trial run. Right guys?"

He turned to his students, but not of them payed him any mind. Choji was too engrossed on his junk food, Shikamaru had already falling asleep, and Ino was more focused in talking to Karin about some subject that eluded his male mind.

"You could show me more support when I'm trying to brag here" He grumbled.

"Oh don't worry sensei" Ino waved it off as she poked Shikamaru into wakefulness with a well-placed jab at his head. "Next time the exams will be right in the bag for us" Ever since she decided to take her career more seriously, she felt a newfound sense of drive.

"Confidence is good" Came Kushina's voice as she approached their stands with Kakashi in tow, "But pay attention, you kids are gonna learn something"

"Indeed" Said Gai, who stood with his arms and legs crossed a few seats away from them, "Keep your eyes well open, for you are about to witness my student's flaming spirits!" He grinned with a twinkle in his eye.

"Here I thought you only had one student" Kushina dryly commented with her hands on her hips, "So far I have only seen you pay attention to Lee, Gai" She admonished.

"Um..." The Taijutsu master awkwardly muttered, "Well, Lee required more focus given his circumstances. Tenten is very adept at keeping up and learning on her own, plus Neji's a..."

"Total asshole?" Kiba supplied Akamaru barked in agreement on his head, which got him a smack in the arm courtesy of his teacher.

"I was going to say a touch reclusive and solitary" Gai tactfully said.

Kushina groaned before rubbing her mouth with her hand; "Regardless of Lee's circumstances you should have been more involved with Neji's and Ten-chan's training. You know better Gai."

The Green Beast mulled over her words in silence. He hadn't brushed Tenten and Neji aside, but Lee required more attention, and he had been doing everything in his power in order for his student to reach his goals. His other two students were very talented, and could catch up on their own terms, so they did not need as much instruction as Lee did.

But… then the image of Neji, always full of anger and resentful, nearly killing his cousin came to mind, and Gai couldn't help but think that perhaps he should have tried harder to reach out to the boy.

"...Well you are not what I expected, Red Death." A feminine voice caught their attention as they all look up behind them to a row above behind the Uzu. Kuro smirked at all of them; "Then again, you have a reputation of surpassing expectations, I don't think anyone was expecting your miraculous return. It's caused quite a stir."

Kushina eyed the woman; "Afraid you have me at a disadvantage."

"Forgive me, my name is Kuroreimei, or Kuro for short. I ran into your son several weeks ago...Quite literally." The raven haired women dryly toned as she could still not believe that happened.

"Oh my" Kushina said with concern, "He didn't get into trouble did he?" She asked with overly concern as a mother would do.

The raven haired women laughed it off, "Oh it's nothing to be concerned about. Now, the exam is about to begin. Why don't we just sit back and enjoy the show?"

"Would like to watch it with you guys" Kushina said, addressing her friends and family. "But I got assigned to be with the old man and the other Kage" She made a half ram sighed and waved her free hand cheerfully at them, "Later!" And disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Kuro watched as the rest of the Konoha natives and Uzumaki fell into idle conversation as they waited for the final test to begin. She could tell the jounin were keeping an eye on her, and she could not blame them. It was healthy to be suspicious of strangers.

Her focus shifted to the redheads. It had been such a long time ago, but she still recalled multiple lineages of people with bright red hair, people who shared indomitable spirits along who would smile and laugh even at the face of overwhelming adversity, though distant they would also share blood through going back all the way to a particular ancestor. Truly, there could be no mistake that they descended from _him_...

Her red eyes went over to the blonde haired boy in the arena.

She wondered if the prophecy was true, if any of these Uzumaki had truly inherited 'it'.

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

Sitting amongst the Konoha civilians and well hidden, a hooded princess Maiyuri took in the sight of everyone here to see the finals. She was spellbound seeing so many cheering the Genin prospects for the exams. Her surprise was genuine seeing Kirigakure shinobi and few citizens, never had she thought the former Bloody Mist village ever venture from beyond their lands.

But it showed even they could change from who they once were. And as she was told by the ANBU Tenzō, the new Mizukage actually agreed to becoming allies with Konoha. This had to be the first time since the treaty with Suna that such a thing happened.

Her eyes went down to the arena and the Genin; she wondered what they had in store for them.

Her lips pursed in apprehension. In Maiyuri's eyes they were still children... No, it wasn't just in her eyes. These kids couldn't be older than thirteen. And here they were in a 'test' that by all intents and purposes was just a proxy war. Already the exam had faced multiple casualties and it continued on like nothing had happened.

It sickened her that they would still throw children to the fire like this.

But seeing the determined faces of the genin, the enthusiastic looks of the people as they waited for the final phase of the exam to start, it made her think that perhaps she was in the wrong. This was nearly a century old tradition, who was she to question it?

But that line of thought was quickly squashed the moment she looked at Gaara of the Sand. That boy... he was twisted beyond imagination, turned into a creature that craved nothing but bloodshed and destruction. A mistake, an atrocity allowed by his village because he was to serve as a weapon. It made her question Hashirama's judgement when he first gave the other villages their own Bijuu.

Granted, she did not know how bad things were before Hashirama quelled the clan wars. But the sight of seeing children fighting in battles meant for adults sickened her. And seeing children like Gaara and Naruto turned into weapons... Her hands clenched into fists before letting out a calming breathe.

Yet presently there was nothing she could about it. Not at her current position and station, even as a highborn. So all she could do is watch as the exams play out.

And pray...

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

Hiashi's eyes never left his nephew's form as he gazed down at the arena below. Beside him, his youngest daughter Hanabi sat a good distance away from the Uzumaki. Near the Hyuuga clan head and daughter were the Hyuuga elders. One of note was the elderly man who resembled a much older version Hiashi, Haruka Hyuuga.

Throughout the years Hiashi had developed a stone faced facade that betrayed no emotion. Hiding it all behind a stern frown. In a clan where everyone could anything, keeping one's true feelings guarded was second nature to them.

But if Hiashi was a wall no one could look through, then his father Haruka was an island on the far horizon, where only a small patch of brown and green could be seen. The man's capacities to remain stoic surpassed even his own.

Hiashi did not remember his father letting out even a small smile, not since...

A pang of guilt throbbed in his heart as he gazed at Neji once more.

Loyalty to the clan above all else, their secrets to be preserved at any cost. Haruka understood that very well, and made sure the clan did what needed to be done.

If his father ever mourned Hizashi, then he made certain that nobody would ever know.

"Father" Thankfully, his youngest voice brought him back from that dark line of thought, "I don't know much about who Neji's opponent will be"

Truthfully, neither did he. Sakura Haruno, the daughter of shopkeepers who quit the ninja line after their mandatory first year as genin was over, like many civilian born ninja often did.

Hiashi knew Sakura was a part of team 7 with Kushina's son and the surviving Uchiha. His oldest Hinata has been becoming friends with the pink haired girl a month ago. But other than that, nothing, which was rather frustrating.

A low grunt came from Haruka who overheard his granddaughter; "She is of no consequence Hanabi." The elderly man spoke with a cold sternness. "The girl is a civilian born; her skills and talent are not of any significant note."

"I must agree with Haruka-dono," another elder chimed in; "Even with Neji being a member of the branch family, his skills are more than enough to best this girl."

Hanabi only nodded while Hiashi clenched a single fist.

A young member of their clan, a man in his twenties, spoke up to the side to another fellow kinsman. "Though I heard Uzumaki-dono has been training her. I've worked with Yugao-san before; I can attest the woman is a capable teacher"

"Are you honestly suggesting the girl has a chance against Neji?"

"All I'm saying is that sometimes a clanless ninja can surprise you, Jiraiya-sama is proof of that"

This and other words Hiashi heard being exchanged amongst his fellow Hyuuga. Some pondering if the civilian born actually had a chance thanks to her training under Kushina, others staunch in their belief that their own prodigy would not have any difficulty in facing someone of such a lackluster lineage.

Hiashi had no doubt in his mind Neji thought the same thing. That his opponent was someone barely worth his attention. His victory against her was 'fated' after all.

Hiashi loathed that word... almost as much as he loathed himself.

A coward he had been, for not having the courage to actually open up to his nephew, to tell him how his father had given up his life in spite of his own protests. To actually try and talk to the boy, connect with him...

But how could he do that when he barely could connect with his own children?

Neji was trapped in his fatalistic belief; he needed something that would challenge it, to break it even.

And what better way than to have a 'no name' ninja defeat him?

 _'Haruno-san'_ He mused to himself as he looked at the pinkette in the line of chunin aspirants. _'For Neji's sake... please win'_

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

Kushina whistled as she stood beside the Hokage's seat beside Jiraiya. "I think this is the biggest crowd I've ever seen for an exam."

Hiruzen lit his tobacco pipe and blew out some smoke; "They have come for several reasons my dear. One is obviously to see the Genin of this current generation."

"The next reason is Kirigakure," Jiraiya took over crossing his arms; "This is the first time in ages since they ever allied with anyone."

"Any other reason?" Kushina asked with an arched brow.

"That would be your return of course," the voice of Mizukage garnered their attention as she and a middle aged man with blue moused hair dressed in a striped, grey suit, with a green haori that had white trimmings that stop halfway down. On each ear are Talismans with the Kanji 'to hear', and finally an eye-patch over his right eye. "And then there is your son, people are curious Kushina-dono." Mei gestured to the man beside her; "This is Ao."

The redhead gave a small nod in greeting to the eye-patch wearing man, who returned it, before looking at the Mizukage. "Really? Is he that interesting to people?"

"By now most are aware of him, the child of a Namikaze and an Uzumaki who awoke a kekkei genkai out of nowhere, not only that but the bearer of the Kyuubi no Kitsune" She said, merely stating the facts. "That number of traits is bound to garner... attention"

There was an underlying message that was all too clear for the Uzumaki. Her son possessed multiple characteristics that would make him highly valuable for different parties. If it wasn't his Uzumaki lineage and the sealing mastery behind it then it'd be his Namikaze heritage and their secrets, the Shoton power would only further entice others to get their hands on him even more.

And that wasn't even going over the fact that he was a Jinchuuriki, one of the highest priority targets for enemies of the village...

Kushina could not lie; she feared for her son, she truly did. Because of that she made sure to train him to the best of her ability, so he would be able to stand up to anyone that would try to harm him. Of course, they'd have to get through her first... but Kushina knew she wouldn't always be there to protect him.

Memories of when Kumo kidnapped her surged to the forefront her mind, it was only thanks to Minato's heroic rescue that she escaped their clutches.

"It'd be best for you to keep a close eye on him, Uzumaki-dono" A new different voice made itself known as the newcomer approached the Kage seating area.

Unlike the Mizukage, he actually wore the Kage robes just like Hiruzen, only the colored parts of his were a dark green instead of red. With the kanji for 'wind' written over the white front his conical hate. Though his face was hidden by a veil, there was no mistaking those eyes, Kushina had seen them before once. On the battlefield.

"Lord Rasa" Hiruzen spoke the Kazekage's name with respect. "It's good to have you here"

"Hiruzen-dono," Rasa gave a nod to the wizened Kage as well as to Mei who returned it. "It has been a long time Kushina-san, welcome back."

The redhead smirked; "Good to be back. And ready to watch my son kick some ass."

A long sigh came from Jiraiya and Sarutobi, Rasa cocked his head; "I would not count my children out so quickly." The Kazekage took his seat; "They might surprise you." He gazed down to the arena below meeting Gaara's intense glare of hate with an apathetic stare.

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

Naruto rubbed the back of his head; "Man this is a lot of people."

"Don't tell me you're nervous?" Sasuke commented with his arms crossed. "Are you chickening out before we start?"

"Hell no," Naruto grinned; "I got to kick your ass at the end of this."

The Uchiha chuckled; "Like to see you try."

"Please save the trash talking for the fights" Sakura muttered, "Not that anyone would hear you with how big this place is..." Her voice was distant, trailing of as she eyed the other competitors, a bead of sweat dropped down her check as she felt the byproduct of Gaara's killing intent which he seemed to direct towards the kage seating. "Careful Sasuke, that guy is... insane" She whispered to her dark haired teammate.

She tried ignoring him (easier said than done) and looked over at her opponent out of the corner of her eye. Neji was his ever stoic self, unflinching, unmoving, seemingly ignoring the great buzz of the crowd, not even Gaara's presence seemed to affect him. Gods was he even breathing? He was so still she couldn't even tell.

He didn't even pay attention to her, like she wasn't even worth it...

Sakura tried steeling herself, taking deep breaths. She had a strategy, she had a plan, and all she needed to do was execute it on the fight. Remember what Kushina-sensei said... Oh gods what did she say? She said so many things, most of it being senseless rambling followed by crazy schemes for future pranks. There were sometimes wisdom and useful advice in her words, but right now she couldn't remember any of it. Oh what was she going to-?

"Stop worrying" As though somehow he could feel her growing unease, Sasuke said in a... well it wasn't exactly a comforting tone, but it was a big improvement for him. "You'll be fine"

Both Naruto and Sakura blinked in surprise. "Was that... empathy, from you?" The blonde said in bewilderment.

Sasuke snorted but said nothing. At that same moment a man in a standard Konoha Jounin uniform appeared in front of them via Shunshin. He has brown, shoulder-length hair which hangs about his face and brown eyes. On his head he wore his hite-ate like a bandanna with a senbon in his mouth.

"My name is Genma Shiranui; I'll be your proctor for the final exams." He spoke in calm, laid-back manner.

Up with the Kages, Hiruzen took notice that it was finally time to begin. He gave a nod to the other Kages before rising from his and walked to the podium; "I bid you all welcome." His voice rang out throughout the arena silencing the crowd.

"Today is the finals of the chunin exams! I would also like give welcome to Kirigakure for which their Mizukage has joined us for this event." A cheer came from numerous people in the crowd from the land of water, both civilian and Shinobi.

Mei only smiled as the elder Kage spoke again; "And our allies from Sunagakure and their Kazekage." People of the desert nation cheered with pride as Rasa gave a nod of approval.

"You stand here as the most fitting candidates to achieve the rank of chunin" He spoke loudly, addressing the young shinobi in the arena. "To become chunin is not a reward, it's a responsibility. The rank carries with it a great responsibility, as you graduate from novices you are expected to lead. Your performance today will show if you truly are ready for what it means to be a chunin"

"Alright, listen up." Genma took over getting the attention of the Genin prospects; "This pretty much goes like the preliminaries. Fights do not stop unless your opponent is unconscious, dead, or too incapacitated to continue or I say stop. You all got that?" The genin nodded; "Good, now I'd like Sakura Haruno and Neji Hyuuga to remain with me for their bout. Rest of you head up to the fighter's section in the stands.

Naruto gave Sakura a quick hug which she returned; "You got this." The blond grins while Sasuke gave a nod before him and the rest left the arena. In the rows the rosette's parents cheered their daughter on as the crowd begins to roar.

A long sigh came from the young kunoichi as she put her hair in a ponytail much like Kushina's and puts on her gloves. Sakura stood before Neji a good foot away, enough distance to see the Hyuuga giving her a dismissive look. He didn't think she would be a challenge, all he could see was a civilian-born, a barely capable ninja who was not even worth his time.

That was exactly what she needed.

"You should give up now Haruno-san, and save yourself the humiliation" Neji stated with blank apathy.

Taking a reassuring breath, the rosette shook her head; "Afraid not Hyuuga-san. I intend to prove this civilian born is not some disposable tool." Sakura takes the second stance of Nenshou Tsuki.

Neji only closes his eyes; "At least I gave you the option."

In the stands Hinata held her hands together as she gazed at both Sakura and Neji. Silently praying they wouldn't hurt each other too much in the coming fight. Beside her Ino was more vocal; "Kick his butt Sakura!" she cheered wildly making Shikamaru roll his eyes and a chuckle come from their sensei.

Kuro leaned forward in her seat with mild interest; "I've heard of Hyuuga's prowess in battle. Not something to underestimate."

"And it's not," Kakashi spoke up as he sat beside Asuma and Kurenai. "Sakura will be in for a fight, but I have faith in my student. She will pull through."

"Don't count for victory so easily Kakashi," Gai retorted his opinion into the conversation. "Neji was rookie of the year for a reason."

Lyn snorted with a predatory grin; "hope you're in for a surprised 'Green beast'."

Sitting in the stands with several Kiri Shinobi, Zabuza and Kouhei watch on; "This should be interesting if nothing else." The swordsman muttered. A few Jounin and Chunin agreed with him with mild nods and words.

Kouhei said nothing as he watched on. Not too far away Samui and Omoi sat observing. "She's going to be annihilated," the buxom blond teen stated in cold reasoning.

Omoi only shrugged as he chewed on his lollipop. "Unless she gets a punch in."

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

Genma eyed both youngsters; "First Match; Sakura Haruno vs Neji Hyuuga, begin!" he leapt out of the way as the crowd roared anew.

Neji rushed in like a bolt of lightning, eager to get this over with and advance to worthier opponents. His Byakugan activated as he advanced, his hands rose prepared to hit her chakra points closer to her head and render her unconscious in an instant.

Naruto and the others in the stands held a breath as Neji charged. Up in rows Hinata held her hands tightly.

Paralyzing fingers like the fangs of a snake ready to strike. Sakura did not move, instead, she slipped a hand into her pouch, pulling out three small bombs and throwing them to the ground.

What followed was a very large explosion of purple smoke, at least seven feet in length and width, covering their location. Nothing could be seen in the dense smoke. Suddenly, Sakura back flipped away from the cloud, looking unharmed.

As the cloud dissipated, the spectators saw Neji slouching, a hand pressed tightly to his chest while he coughed violently. His whole body shaking, angry pearly eyes that now had a soft red tint, indicating irritation in them, glared at her. "W-What did you do?" He tried to regain his failure but nearly faltered, one leg suddenly feeling very weak before he managed to stand up straight once more.

"Poison" Was Sakura's sole reply.

Coughing through the poison smoke in his lungs, the Hyuuga glares at the rosette. "Poison? That's a dirty trick"

Grabbing a few Kunai with tags, Sakura smiled as she lit the slow fuse "Ninja don't play dirty; they strategize and take down their opponent's. By any means necessary..." Tossing her tagged kunai at the Hyuuga she rushed to the side, getting more distance.

Kushina and Jiraiya nod approvingly while Naruto kept a steely expression watching; "You got this Sakura-Chan."

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

"Good strategy." Kuro applauded with a nod.

It was the only way to overcome a superior of opponent, strategize around any possible weakness. And she doubted the Hyuuga carried any antidotes with him, or that he knew any healing techniques.

"Your damn right sister," Lyn cheered with a smirk. "Kushi has been putting that girl through hell preparing to face Mr. Frowny Face down there."

Saito nodded; "Indeed. Kushina, Kakashi-san, and Jiraiya-sama did not pull any punches for the month they spent training Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke."

Ino only cheered on loudly much to Shika's chagrin while Chouji ate his chips. Kiba and Shino both looked surprised, well more Kiba since you really could not tell what Shino was thinking. Hinata only kept her eyes on Sakura and Neji.

Hiashi leaned forward with his hand over his mouth, ' _Clever move._ '

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

Neji felt his body heavier than it should be; his reaction and speed were slower due to the poison spreading through his body. He willed himself to respond quickly, and managed to back away as the kunai hit the ground and lit up. The explosion didn't reach him, but he was still close enough to feel the heat.

He tried to concentrate on the girl who kept running around the area. His vision, despite having the Byakugan activated, blurred slightly. He couldn't focus properly, his head swarmed by tiredness and dizziness. He shook his head and tried to focus, Neji noticed the pinkette had not been affected slightly by the poison, despite having been caught in the blast when she had dropped the bombs between them.

"How are you not affected?!" He demanded.

"I've been dosing myself with the antidote!" She called, stealthily dropping a paper tag as she circled around him.

Before he could react in time an explosion of blinding light hits full force. Neji screams holding his eyes. "Those eyes are deadly, but dōjutsu have weaknesses." Sakura's voice coming from everywhere.

Hinata, Hanabi, Hiashi, along with the rest of the Hyuuga in attendance unconsciously winced.

Closing his eyes from the blast, Neji tries to figure out where the sound was coming from. "This display won't stop me Haruno-San! You can't stop the Byakugan that easily!"

Sakura chuckles as she stealthily places a few more traps around. "Except you can't use your Byakugan if you can't see!" As the effects of her flashing explosive started to wear off, she see Neji growling and turning every way, trying shaking himself of the headache he must be receiving.

A blurry mirage of pink haired opponent was all Neji could focus on, as the light and the poison were throwing off his ability to process information. Though he could barely see Sakura, he was sure he could fight the effects of the poison long enough to reach her. Rushing, pumping his legs, the Hyuuga branch house member storms right for the pink haired woman, flaring his chakra in an attempt to push back the poisons seemingly zapping effect on his system. Unknown to him, the poison was only disorienting his chakra the more he uses it, causing massive fatigue through his attempts to fight it.

As he strikes with his right palm thrusting forward, his movement too sluggish for it to be effective, Sakura quickly sidesteps and grabs his arm, flipping him over her shoulder and into the ground.

His body protests in pain as his back collides with the arena's soil, though his vision was still somewhat blurry, he saw her standing over him, rearing a fist back to attack. He managed to move quickly enough to hit a few points over her torso and arm, he missed some chakra points but his attack was enough to force her to jump back.

Sakura coughed as he held her left side, it was burning with pain, her arm felt stiffer now, and it was hard to move it.

Slowly rising with a long painful groan to his feet Neji huffs. "You will find your arm will be useless for some time. While I hit nothing fatal on your torso, you will find it hard to move as fast as you were Sakura-San."

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

"So much for that punch," Samui droned as she crossed her arms.

With the Genin prospects Sasuke lightly cursed under his breathe while a growl came from Naruto. Haku stood beside the blond; "This will make it much more difficult for her."

Yugito rubbed her chin before looking to Naruto; "What do you think?"

The blond Uzumaki said nothing for a minute; "Don't count Sakura-Chan out."

"Hell of a hill for her to climb with her left arm being of no use Uzumaki," Karui muttered at Chojuru's side.

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

Sakura, however, was feeling confident despite her recent injury. She knew it was not going to be easy, as prepared as she was she had learned not to trust plans too far into the final result. This was why she bought some insurance. Smiling, she held a few more bombs in her hand. "I may not move fast anymore, but you'll find you won't be able to get away..." Throwing the smoke bombs around the arena, she reached for more paper bombs.

Seeing her start to distract him, he kept his focus on her. Moving forward, fighting his sluggish nature as best he could, he found himself in the center of several Kunai bombs in an instant. Trying to jump back, Neji could barely react fast enough before the explosions blasted him back, causing another trap to activate around where he first hit Sakura, more poison entering his system, making him disorientated.

Taking this as her chance, the Rosette activated the low power bomb she placed on Neji's back during her throwing move that took him to the ground, making him scream in pain and hit the floor. It was almost over, as Sakura still had one trap left on the field. Running to it as fast as she could, she watches Neji stand up, glaring at her from the side. Standing around the final trap, she held another smoke bomb in her hand. "I'd stay down if I were you..."

Neji stood up, groaning in pain but gritting his teeth to fight it. Walking towards his opponent, the Hyuuga glares menacingly to her. "You won't beat me, I cannot lose."

"Yes... You can."

"I'm telling you it is impossible!" He snarled, rage consuming him. "Do you know why? Because fate already dictated so!"

That makes the rosette stand still and look at him with a mixture of confusion and exasperation. "Fate?"

"Everyone's fate is already decided for them since birth. Yours, mine, everyone's, there is no escaping it" He seethes. He reaches out for his headband and pulls it away with a forceful tug. Sakura's eyes widen at 'ban' shaped seal on his forehead.

"Is that...?" She mutters.

"The Cage Bird Seal" He spats the name with loathing. "My chains, the chains of the entire Branch Family. All of us are branded since birth to serve the Main Branch. This accursed thing can inflict pain and death on a mere command" His hold over his headband tightens. "This seal is a symbol of our inescapable fate, the same fate that befell my father and so many others... Nothing but death and despair awaits us"

In the stands, Hiashi clenches his fists, he could remember the last time he saw his brother. He was smiling at him... _'No Neji... You deserve to know what happened. I will not hold this from you any longer'_

Down with the other fighters, Naruto placed a hand upon his stomach. _'It doesn't have to be like this Neji..._ '

"Neji..." Tenten muttered with sadness. Lee could only feel remorse that regardless of their attempts, his team had failed to pull their comrade from that abyss.

Gaara briefly looked over, but then closed his eyes once more without paying it any mind.

The Hyuuga took a step forward. "And you, a simple civilian born ninja, share the same fate of many others like you. Cannon fodder, a sacrificial pawn that will be cast out for the sake of those stronger... So you can stop holding others back"

Sakura clenched her fist tightly, she remembered those times she could have been more useful, how her teammates seemed to move far and beyond her own progress, how it seemed there would come the day they'd just leave her behind...

She wasn't going to let that happen, she would keep going forward. Always training and learning more, so she could walk at their side, so she wouldn't be a load but rather so she could help them carry their burdens.

She wouldn't leave them, just as she knew they would never leave her.

Jade eyes full of determination snapped open. "You talk too much"

She threw the smoke bomb; the density of the cloud would normally not be a problem for the Byakugan, even with the Hyuuga's weakened state. But the purpose wasn't to blind him with it.

The purpose was to distract him.

As Neji tried to move away from the smoke, not knowing if it carried more of that cursed poison, his blurry dōjutsu's vision began noticing several chakra signatures lighting up... all around him. His turned left and right with growing dread, dozens and dozens of paper bombs were activating, so many and so close.

He willed his body to act despite the pain, he rotated quickly on his fist, hands channeling chakra and forming a fast moving barrier. The poison kept acting up, putting even more strain to his body. " _Kaiten_!"

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

"Impossible!" a Hyuuga clan elder yelled as he stood from his seat. "How did a member of the branch family learn the Kaiten!?"

Haruka said nothing as his eyes stayed focus on the battle, while his son's Hiashi's eyes had widened with disbelief.

Neji had never been taught that technique, nothing in his instructions had ever gone over these particular branch of techniques from the main house. And none of his teachers would ever show him how to perform that defensive technique.

The only way Neji could actually do the Kaiten… was that he learnt it by himself.

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

Suddenly, one by one they began exploding all around him. The chakra sphere which he used to defend himself disappeared under blasts of fire and thick clouds of smoke.

The entire arena watched in silence as the dust settled, the smoke slowly cleared away, the still standing form of the Hyuuga, battered and bruised, looking like a soft wind could knock him out.

He was staring at her with so much anger, but most of all, disbelief. He couldn't even process his defeat was at hand.

Kuro only smiled; _'She did well_...'

Hinata cupped a hand over her mouth; both in relief and concern flood her as light tears rim her eyes. _'Neji-Nii_.'

"Y-You…" He seethed. "You are just another nameless civilian..! There's just no way you can actually defeat me!" It almost sounded he was trying to convince himself.

"…Are you kidding me?" Holding her side while her left arm dangles lifelessly, Sakura walked over to the fallen Hyuuga. Neji tried to move, but his body would not respond as the rosette walked with an angry gait to her steps. "After everything I did, after I clearly showed I won just by outsmarting you, you have the gall to still call me a futureless cannon fodder? You're just gonna keep whining about how unfair the world is when you have so many people that for ungodly reasons actually worry about you?!"

She couldn't take it anymore, she had enough of his ranting.

Her fist tightened as the anger reached the boiling point.

"YOU IDIOT!"

And struck him with a solid uppercut.

His body fell backwards.

For a moment, there was silence.

Neji's soot covered face turned to her slowly and painfully. "Y-You..." He coughs. "You were supposed to lose"

"If I hadn't prepared myself to fight you, I would have" She acknowledged, her anger slowly receding, she didn't have it in her to stay mad anymore, and it just wasn't worth the effort. "I still have a long way to go before being able to fight against someone like you directly"

His breathed are short and shallow. "This makes no sense... You're just a civilian born..."

"That has nothing to do with how I won" She insisted. "I was able to outsmart you wasn't I?"

The Hyuuga did not respond.

Sakura sighs. "I'm sorry for what happened to you" She spoke earnestly. "I can't hope to understand what you went through... But I won't let that make me any less than I am" Sakura looked at him in the eyes.

"People like you..." He retorted. "Can't change their fate"

"I don't really know if there is a fate, or how it is, but one thing I know for certain is that I won't fall behind my team, I will keep getting stronger so we can face everything that comes our way. Together" Her gaze goes to the fighter's and the upper stands. "You have people who really care for you, you know?"

Neji remained silent once more, taking in her words.

"So maybe... you could be happier if you try. I know I'll give it my all to. So I can always stay by my teammates' side" She smiled softly and gazed upwards to the sky. "So I think a talented guy like you won't have much trouble as me with that, you already are pretty strong, and you have really good friends"

The Hyuuga's gaze fell, the disappointment of his defeat and his will shook so much by someone who by all rights shouldn't have been able to defeat him weighted heavily on him. He barely noticed when the medics took him away.

"Winner!" Genma announced. "Sakura Haruno!"

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

Haruka along with the elders stared in utter shock. A civilian born beat a Hyuuga? The mere thought was inconceivable, but the reality of the event that unfolded spoke otherwise.

Hiashi sighed while his youngest felt her jaw go slack. ' _Thank you Haruno-San_.' The clan head of the Hyuuga soon frowned. There was something he needed to do, and it could no longer be put off. "Hanabi." The young girl composed herself as she gazed to her father; "Go to your sister, I must attend to another important matter."

"Yes father."

Near them Ino, Karin, Samenosuke, and Lyn cheered the loudest amongst them as the others applauded. Even Kya was faintly impressed at the feat showing via a lifted brow. Kuro stood from her seat as she applauded with a smile. ' _That girl has more talent than she knows._ '

Not too often could Omoi say he ever seen Samui looked genuinely shocked. He almost wished he had a camera seeing the expression of disbelief on her face. Near them was the rousing laughter of Zabuza; "Well that took the Hyuuga down a peg!"

Kouhei only rolled his eyes.

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

The Jounin proctor knelt down beside the rosette; "You gonna be okay?"

"Yeah," the rosette nodded as she slowly gets to her feet with Genma's help. "Would be nice to have a working arm though." She looks to limp left.

"Doesn't look that bad" He mused as he took a look. "It should be fine by your next match" He smirked reassuringly at her. "But if you ask me, you're already chunin material girl"

She gazed at him as he continues; "Your strategy was excellent, and you kept your composure throughout the match. Far as I am concern kiddo, you're Chunin in my eyes."

Slowly, Sakura bowed respectfully to Genma, whispering a thank you fighting light tears in her eyes. She strolled back to the fighter's box.

She is immediately received by cheers. "Sakura-chan, you were awesome!" Naruto cried in excitement.

Karui smirked; "Damn good fight!" Yugito nodded in agreement with a smile.

"I can't believe it, you did it!" Tenten was pretty much hopping in place. "I feel kind of bad for Neji, but you were great!"

"Indeed Sakura-chan, perhaps this defeat will prove to be more beneficial to our youthful companion in the future!" Lee gave her thumbs up, accompanied by blinding (literally, the glint of his teeth was too much) grin.

"Hmm" Sasuke grunted, looking at her and slowly nodding. "Not bad... not bad at all"

Only a tired rueful grin came from the rosette as she looked over to Haku who walked over. The Hyoton user lifts her limp left arm inspecting it. "An hour maybe less before your arm will function again. You will be fine Sakura-Chan."

"You did amazing" The kiri Nin finished with a sincere smile. "Well done"

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

With the Kages and Jiraiya, they do their best ignoring Kushina, who is dancing around them cheering. "Hell yeah~!" She sang.

"That was a splendid match" Mei said, impressed at the display. Ao only looked on with sheer shock in his eye.

"Unbelievable," the Kiri Nin muttered.

"To think the unknown girl like her could defeat a prodigy like the young Hyuuga" The Kazekage noted.

"Never doubt the power of a good strategy Rasa-dono" Hiruzen said sagely. "Neji was overconfident, and Sakura's strategy to face him proved quite effective as we have seen"

The Kazekage nods; "Very true and no small feat. It is a well-earned victory." He was actually impressed a civilian born defeated the Hyuuga. Rasa gave the still cheering Uzumaki an appraising look, "You were partly responsible for her development for this fight as I heard, isn't that right Kushina-dono?"

"Partly? I molded that girl!" The redhead folded her arms as she let out a smug grin, "When it comes to kunoichi, ain't no better teacher than me"

"Quite humble I see" The Mizukage dryly muttered as she rested her cheek on her fist.

"After all, all my students have been amazing" Kushina continued, her chin raised high in pride.

"You've only had one student" Hiruzen felt the need to point out.

"Well, that just means I need my own all girls squad to turn into badasses! Cause from what I've seen of this generation of teachers, they don't know crap about how to train girls"

The Hokage, in a very grave and distant voice, said; "The thought of you molding an entire group of young ladies into what you consider 'ideal' is both intriguing and terrifying"

There is a reason he never assigned Kushina a team...

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

The chunin aspirants had little time to comment further on the previous fight when Genma already started calling for the next participants. "Haku Yuki and Yugito Nii, step forward!"

Chocolate and sapphire stare into each as Haku gives a respectful bow; "It will be an honor to face you Yugi-Chan. And becoming your friend was also a bonus."

The Nibi Jinchurriki chuckles putting her hands on her hips; "We might be friends Haku-chan, but don't expect an easy fight." Her adrenaline building for the coming bout. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't looking forward to facing the Hyoton user, next to facing Naruto.

The two came down from the stands, cheers and words of encouragement coming from most of their fellow competitors as they did so.

Mist and Cloud stood off facing each other; the proctor smirked as he felt the intensity of their fighting spirits clashing right in front of him.

Genma slowly raises his hand to the sky. "The match between Haku Yuki and Yugito Nii is about to..." He swiftly brings down his hand in a chopping motion. "Begin!" And he quickly distanced himself from the fighters.

The Kumo-nin wasted no time and darted towards her opponent and great speed. Haku swiftly threw various senbon aimed at her joints, but Yugito zig-zagged them with cat-like grace and agility. She leaped into the air and spun in a great display of acrobatics, delivering a sweeping kick upon the Kiri-nin.

Haku blocked the attack with her forearms guarding above her head, she staggered back slightly from the force of the strike. She pushed Yugito away who back flipped in the air, landing gracefully on the ground with a spin. Her catlike eyes widened when she saw Haku quickly going through some hand seals. " _Sensatsu Suishō_!"

The air around Haku grows cold as dozen upon dozen of ice senbon form around her. Quickly, the Kumo blonde jumps back with incredible force to gain distance, flipping her way away from the ice-user as the Senbon stat to build up a path right to her from where she once stood to where she stopped flipping. Yugito jumps into the air as the last few fly under her, flipping towards Haku and spinning.

Seeing this, the Kiri Genin jumps out of the way of the cat-like moves of her opponent, whom lands on both hands and spins like a top with two snap kicks. The attack quickly dodged, Yugito pulls her feet under her and jumps with all her might as grabs for a Kunai, spinning in the air to dodge the next attack the young ice user dispatched against her.

Though it was foolhardy to be as quick as she was, as Haku pulls several of her real senbon from her pouch and throws a line of them right one Yugito's path, forcing Yugito to take the ones that were going to hit her in the back before throwing her Kunai right down at her opponent, ignoring the pain from the needles.

Haku easily evaded the kunai, but the hissing sound it brought with it alerted her immediately. She jumped and the paper tag on the kunai exploded, momentarily blocking her view as Yugito landed behind the smoke, landing on all fours.

The jinchuuriki growled as a small bit of her tenant's chakra flowed throughout her body. Her sharp nails dig into the earth as her muscles tenses and hardened, pushing the needles off from her body and quickly regenerating the small wounds. She brought her hands together and went through quick handsigns. She inhaled deeply, her cheeks puffing. " _Nezumi Kedama_!"

She then spat a small blue fireball with the dark shape of rodent inside the flames. The fireball cleaved through the leftover smoke, and flew straight at Haku, who was caught off guard by the sudden attack. Her reflexes allowed reacting in time for her to quickly grab a kunai and imbue it with ice before throwing it at the fireball.

The kunai and the fireball collided; the elemental attack was split into pieces. Yet to Haku's shock, the fireball hadn't dissipated, rather it had split into numerous smaller blasts of fire which homed in directly at her.

"That's not your average fire Haku," Yugito yells. She hears Matatabi snickering.

Without thought, Haku jumped out of the area of effect that was going to be her demise if she stayed any longer, only just getting out of the way of three of the blasts, one clocking her in the hip and blasting her back as the rest flew up the wall before slipping and looking to flank her as she rolled on the ground.

Groaning in pain, the Ice wielder got up and concentrated. She was hoping to not use her more advanced abilities just yet, but she was backed into a corner. " _Hijutsu: Makyō Hyōshō_!" With a flash, the area around her was covered in smoke as the incoming blasts flanking her from above hit her jutsu head on. As the smoke slowly clears, the audience could only look in amazement at the large dome wall of ice surrounding the Kiri-Nin with holes created all around from the blasts hitting it full on, though it managed to stop them regardless.

The kiri-nin then gathers her chakra and molds it through a series of handsigns. Icy mist gathers around Yugito, crystallizing in the form of dozens of mirrors suspended in the air around her. Yugito frantically looks around for a way to escape, but all the mirrors were too close to each other for her to find a spot to quickly sneak out.

Suddenly, Haku's reflection appears on all the mirrors, looking at her with a calculating gaze. Yugito realizes this was more a complex ninjutsu and not a genjutsu, meaning that her opponent most likely had the capacity to strike from everywhere in this dome of hers.

So the Kumo-nin did the most sensible thing she could do in this situation. Before Haku had a chance to strike, Yugito began spinning high velocity, her form becoming a blur and disappearing inside blue flames that suddenly lit up all over her body. Haku decided to strike before she could finish whatever it was she was doing. Dozens of copies jumped out of the mirror and straight at the jinchuuriki, senbon in hand ready to strike.

But unfortunately for her, the blaze of blue fire increased in size greatly, erupting as if someone had thrown oil at it. Dozens upon dozens of fireballs were shot in every direction, striking the various copies of the ice ninja, the mirrors began to melt due to the intense heat, and the continuous strike of various fireballs managed to shatter them.

Haku was forced to jump out of the way as her special technique had been destroyed due to the sheer raw power of the Jinchuuriki's flames. Yugito stopped spinning, and looked at her with a predatory gaze while giving a wild smirk. Her features seemed a bit more savage as well.

Without another word, the jinchuuriki lunged at the kiri Nin, nails increasing in length and sharpening. Each attack was like the strike of a wild wolverine, but Haku kept dodging and evading the strike, occasionally countering with a quick attack of her own to stop the claws from reaching her.

' _Matatabi-San, she's helping you isn't she'_ Haku mentally muses while dodging Yugito's strikes.

Narrowly missing the Kumo Kunoichi's attacks, a fingernail from the Jinchurriki cuts through Haku's sleeve, only to hit ice. Yugito's eyes widen as her nails rasp against something cold and hard, she realizes the Kiri kunoichi was surrounding her limbs with a thin coat of ice to protect her body. Her nails manage to break through the place she had stroked, but they weren't able to pierce deeper into the flesh, only managing to graze the skin.

She was forced to dodge as Haku slashed at her with a kunai, but quickly dived in once more with a flurry of her claws. A few of her strikes managed to tear through the clothes over Haku's chest, briefly showing a portion of her undergarments.

Naruto held his nose to stop the blood. Sakura noticed this and glowered.

The Kiri-nin back flipped to gain distance, going through handsigns with one hand while using the other to propel herself from the ground. Yugito tried to close in the distance before she could do whatever she was planning.

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

Up in their seats, the three Kages watch with highly calculating eyes along with Kushina. "Neither wastes any movement. They keep calm and strike well," the redhead comments.

"It is a close fight" The Kazekage noted with a tip of his head. "They appear to be evenly matched"

Mei only smirks; "Haku will succeed. Out of all my Genin, she has more combat experience than anyone. She is without a doubt one of our most gifted in Kirigakure."

"A Genin of mine speaks highly of her," Hiruzen quips.

"I am not surprised" The Mizukage said with just bit haughtiness in her voice, crossing her legs. "She is one of my shinobi after all"

The redheaded Uzu recalled the few times Naruto brought Haku and her Genin team over. Hard to believe such a polite, kind, and levelheaded young girl stayed sane living with Zabuza for so long. And her son had nothing but praise for the lass, still; "With all due respect my lady" Kushina intervenes with a good-nature smirk. "You still haven't seen what our ninja can do"

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

Fire gathers around her claws and Yugito leaps forward with all her strength, bringing her nails down in a sweeping motion. A cross of eight arcs of blue fire shot forward at great speed towards the ice ninja.

Haku just kept doing handsigns and finished the sequence with a clap of her hands. But the fiery attack had managed to reach her, she barely dodged as the blast stroke her right arm, burning away the clothes and ice around it, the force of the impact managed to send her to the ground.

Yugito smirked confidently as her attack had seemingly taken her down, now all she had to do was get close and-

"Ugh!" Her left arm feel limp and felt most of her torso burning with pain. A good number of senbon had somehow embedded into her shoulder and the left half of her back, hitting the nerves and depriving her of the use of her arm. She frantically looked back to see and ice mirror behind her, with one of Haku's copies coming away from it, hand held in a throwing motion.

She quickly jumped back, but a new pain suddenly paralyzed her other arm as new senbon found their mark. This time the attack had come from above, and saw another with Haku's clone having done the same thing. More and more mirrors began to form, but Yugito wasn't going to let them finish. She snarled and channeled chakra through her legs, blue flames coating them. She flexed her muscles tightly as she crouched, before launching herself at great speed.

She flaming legs shattered every mirror they made contact which, jumping from one after the other, obliterating them and the clones before they could strike again. She must have broken over a dozen by how quickly they were forming, it was if the Kiri Nin was trying to trap her into that mirror dome again, but this without her arms she couldn't replicate her previous escape without their strength adding to her spinning fire technique.

As she was about to crush another mirror, Haku's, the real Haku's, feet planted itself against her cheek, sending her flying away. Yugito's first mistake was lowering her guard when her attack had seemingly brought down Haku for a time, now she realized the Kiri-nin had intended for that to happen. Her second mistake was losing herself in the task of destroying the mirrors, her vision clouded by the desperation and anger brought by the loss of mobility in her arms, making her forget about Haku who had been wounded by her technique, allowing the ice ninja to get close.

As Yugito painfully landed, Haku launched more senbon at her, this time aimed at her legs, effectively paralyzing her.

The Nibi Jinchurriki snarls to herself, making such a rookie mistake before looking up to Haku who stands beside her. "Please forfeit Yugito, I do not wish to prolong this further."

At those words the blond woman scoffs/chuckles; "I really have to train better don't I?"

"Don't sell yourself short" The kiri Nin smiled sweetly. "I think you were great, a little more and I would have lost"

Yugito lets out a breath, a bit of laughter still present in her voice. "Still I lost... Proctor!" She called for the Jōnin. "I can't fight anymore"

Walking over, Genma could not help but whistle before looking to Haku; "Winner, Haku Yuki!"

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

The crowd roared in cheer while Naruto absently winced remembering how it felt being hit by Haku's senbon. Even with his crystal armor it still hurt! "How I beat Haku-Chan was a damn miracle."

A questioning brow rose from Sasuke as he looked at the blond; "What about that jutsu you used against her turning everything to crystal?" Speaking of which he has not seen Naruto use that jutsu since Nami.

The chuckle that came from the blond Uzumaki was weak; "Honestly what I used is still an experimental jutsu." The deadpan glare from the Uchiha and Sakura spoke volumes; "I was running out of ideas and Haku-Chan is a beautiful badass!"

"Beautiful eh," Naruto froze at the rosette's dry words.

Karui only looked on in sheer shock, only Samui was ever able to beat Yugito and that was no easy feat. Speaking of the busty blonde teen, Karui could feel that cold glare digging a hole straight into the back of her head. Even if she wasn't visible, Samui had that much of a presence that the young swordswoman of the Cloud knew she was being judged.

She was the last member of Kumo that could become a chunin, the honor of her village depended on her now.

Oh sweet Raijin why...

She could see it now, the Raikage screaming up a storm if she were to fail. Or worse, B-sensei giving her encouragement in a form of a horrible rap song.

UGH! Why was she so negative, since when did she turn into Omoi?!

"Hah! Suck it Kumo!" The bun haired Konoha girl exclaimed before wincing at Karui's look, "Not you, you're good. You're one of the good ones"

Well, that was only mildly insulting...

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

"Damn," Asuma sighed as he lit a cigarette. "That Kiri girl is good."

Karin cleaned her glasses as a shudder escaped her lips; "Naruto said Haku-chan is a dangerous person. But never thought she was that ruthless."

"She was holding back," Saito commented garnering the others attention. "And it wasn't because they see each other as friends."

"Standard for a ninja, really" Kakashi said, his tone bland and seemingly uninterested. But those who knew him understood the man was ever focused into that was going on around him. "The chunin exams are about winning to the best of your ability, raw power doesn't get you far. Fighting smart, now that's what the Kage want. Part of it involves making sure you don't show all your tricks" He lazily waved a hand, motioning the arena in general. "In a place as large as this, where civilians talk and potential enemies are present, it's best if you keep some aces up your sleeve"

He remembered the battle at the bridge, the fact that Haku could perform hand seals with just one arm had stunned him. Her versatility and creativity with her ice techniques (those mirrors of hers being the prime example), her precise taijutsu and general knowledge of multiple fields. So young and yet... If the girl continued improving at her current pace, then she'd be an S class in just a few years.

"How's a girl like her even here?" Samenosuke mumbled, his chin resting on his palm as he leaned forward. "She clearly doesn't want to be"

"Huh?" Kiba replied in disbelief, "What are you talking about?"

"You blind boy?" The long haired Uzumaki man snorted, "Look at her eyes, that girl doesn't like to fight..."

"He's right Kiba," Shino spoke up as he watched Haku return to the fighter's area and Yugito being taken to the medical bay to be looked over. "During the prelims and my bout with her, I looked into her eyes, she is not a warrior by choice." Shino looked over to Karin; "I'd imagine she has expressed as much to you and Naruto-san."

Karin only shrugged with a retort; "If anyone knows it's Naruto, she speaks to him the most. And Aunt Kushina a bit."

"So why is fighting then?" Hanabi raised her voice beside her older sister who looked down at the Hyoton user. "Why would she fight if she hates it?"

"Uh," Chouji paused mid-eating; "National pride?" That was his guess. Shikamaru only rolled his eyes.

"That girl does not remotely care about such things," Lyn countered as she leaned against her chair. The buxom Uzumaki pointed to Hinata; "She's like her."

"Are you insulting my sister?" Hanabi demanded sternly, jumping out at the defense of her elder sibling. True, she may not be a fighter worthy of inheriting the clan title, but she was still her sister. She had a duty to defend her family.

The wild maned woman shrugged, "Just pointing out the obvious, pipsqueak"

The younger Hyuuga glared angrily at the Uzumaki. Or at least she thought she did, it ended up looking more like a childish pout.

"Excuse me" Kurenai spoke up, mildly irritated at Lyn's attitude, "My student is very strong and driven, and I would appreciate if you don't make any assumptions about her"

"Strong? Perhaps. Driven? Only by what other people want" Lyn said, "That's not a good trait for a warrior to have"

"Lyn!" Saito admonished her with a reproaching glare; it did not have any effect.

Kiba growled, "Take that back! Hinata's a real fighter!"

"If you all really believe that" The Uzumaki woman droned, "then why aren't you letting her speak for herself?"

Kurenai and Kiba both froze before looking back to the girl in question. Hinata said nothing as she merely looked to the ground. Hanabi turned to her sister who glanced at her. Kya sighed; "Lyn's right." It was the first time the Namikaze spoke surprising everyone. "The Yuki will only fight because she has her own belief that drives her. I don't see that in the Hyuuga here."

Hinata felt a pang in her heart at the harsh words but did not reproach either two older women. They were right after all. Having recounted the sparring session where she met the Kiri genin per Naruto's persistence, Haku was driven by protecting those she loves. Even if she hated fighting as much as Hinata did, the Kiri kunoichi will rise to battle for her those who are precious to her.

Feeling a hand on her shoulder she saw Shino looking at her. Though he barely expressed much if any emotion, she knew he cared for his team. Hinata gave a small smile and nod for his quiet concern.

Samenosuke sighed; "Well this got dreary. At least Naruto is up next." On cue they all saw the blond Uzumaki along with Lee heading towards the proctor.

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

"I am very excited to finally face you Naruto-Kun," Lee said bouncing on the balls of his feet. "So please don't hold back when fighting Me." the spandex wearing teen smiled widely as his teeth shined.

Naruto winced a bit as he swore the sun was reflected right at his face. "Yep, same to you Lee"

He had been planning with his mother the whole month on how to take on Lee. And the solution was simple... even if he did find it a touch distasteful.

He needed to exploit Lee's weaknesses, and after seeing him push himself so hard to achieve his goals, something Naruto immensely respected, it brought a bad taste on his mouth. But the exam required him to fight smart to impress the judges.

 _'Sorry Lee'_ Naruto thought a touch ashamed, _'But there's no 'fair' in this line of work'_ their enemy wouldn't give them the same courtesy after all.

"Next match, Naruto Uzumaki vs Rock Lee" Genma called, bringing up his arm, "Begin!" And jumped out of the way.

Lee wasted no time; he was nearly a blur as he dashed forward, spinning on his feet to deliver a powerful sweeping kick. Underneath Naruto's clothes was already a thin sheet of crystal, he parried the blow with both his forearms, feeling the material protecting them crack.

Tch, one blow from Lee was enough to do this kind of damage.

The taijutsu specialist did not relent on his assault, sending a flurry of punches to which the blonde parried and dodged. His palms deftly blocking Lee's attacks, yet he was still pushed back little by little.

Naruto fell for a feigned blow to his face, blocking on instinct, only for Lee's punch to bury itself into his stomach instead.

The wind left the blond's lungs, even with his crystal armor that felt like being hit with pure steel! Skidding back with his feet carving through the ground. Rubbing his stomach for a second he re-entered the fray. He knew fighting Taijutsu against taijutsu against someone like Lee was insanity, but there was no choice if his plan was to work.

Not to be outpaced in some capacity he went into his mother's Taijutsu. Though his flurry of punches and kicks were spot on and had some speed and strength to them, against someone like Lee it was a glaring divide of skill as he dodged and blocked at a lightning pace.

"Your skills have improved greatly Naruto-Kun!" Lee cheered blocking Naruto's attacks.

Naruto could not help but chuckle back; "If I could actually land a hit on you I would agree!" Throwing a punch he over extended his reach as the Lee caught his wrist; "Oh crap..."

A grin formed on the spandex wearing Genin as he twisted the blond arm enough to elicited a painful growl before turning and flipping the Uzumaki over his shoulder. Before Naruto knew it his back hit the ground with extreme force as the crowd unconscious winced.

"Ow..." The blond groaned out.

Well, he was pretty sure his muscles were turning into mush by now. But if he still wanted them semi-intact he had to step up his defense.

Like dodging Lee's kick aimed at his head.

Naruto rolled out of the way, Lee's strike hitting the ground where he used to be. The Uzumaki got back up to his feet and summoned two crystal formations around him as defense.

"Will not you change to offensive, Naruto-kun?" Lee questioned as he raised his leg and pulled up his arms in a stance. So far the blonde had done very little to attack him, seemingly content to focus on defense. He took in a deep breath, a thin trail of sweat running down his brow.

Naruto rolled his neck, "Nope. Doing just fine Lee" He smirked, "Come on, try and hit me"

Lee didn't need to be told twice.

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

"Hmm, Naruto's staying on defense an awful lot" Hiruzen commented while he stroked his beard.

Kushina gave a not so subtle giggle as a wide conspirational grin formed on her face.

"And of course, you know what he's planning" The Hokage dryly commented.

"Yep" She beamed, "Not telling though~"

Hiruzen shrugged, "Alright" And resumed watching the fight.

"...Really, I'm not"

"I know"

She fidgeted, "I mean, I guess I can share it with you a little if you ask me"

"I wasn't going to"

"But now I wanna tell you!"

"Too bad then" Long years of experience had taught him how to deal with Kushina's childishness.

The less experience Mizukage could only sweatdrop, "And this is the famed line of Uzu..." Her visible eye returned in to the arena. "Though pure defense won't win him the fight, so why..."

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

"...isn't he doing anything?" Ino wondered aloud. "He's just standing there letting Lee hit him!"

Shikamaru noticed the knowing grins from few of the Uzumakis beside him. Choji looked to his longtime friend; "Is that Lee too much for Naruto?"

It wasn't that, Shika looked back while Ino started shouting words to her fellow blond in the arena. _'It's not that. He has to get close to Lee...But why?_ ' The lazy Nara sighed; "Naruto's planning something."

"Like what, getting his ass kicked?" Kiba bluntly while Akamaru barked on his master's head.

Hinata cupped her hands together as Shino glanced to Kiba but said nothing. Hanabi looked to her sister before looking back to the fight. "He's going to lose." The young Hyuuga stated.

A chuckled came from Samenosuke; "Oh I wouldn't be so sure, pipsqueak."

"What's he up to?" Omoi asked out loud though Samui remained silent as she watched on.

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

Naruto could feel his crystal armor cracking more and more as Lee kept on the pressure. Close by the proctor rose a brow as he watched on.

He had to hand it to the second Green Beast; most people would have fallen over by now. Part of him expected Lee to be running on fumes by now. Goes to show how much of a giant ball of energy Lee was after all.

Naruto just wished his punches didn't hurt so much.

He was starting to feel sore in places he was sure Lee hadn't hit, just by virtue of being near the places where Lee had hit, THAT'S how strong his attacks were.

At least Lee hadn't gotten a good punch to his head; otherwise he'd be seeing smells and hearing colors by now.

The fastest member of Team Gai kicked up a cloud of dust as he dashed forward once more; Naruto summoned a wall of crystal just in time for Lee's fist to collide with it, even from the other side Naruto saw it crack and splitter.

His hands went over two handsigns, and the crystal exploded outwards, sending Lee back, momentarily bouncing off the ground before he regained his footing and stood up once more, his stance resumed like nothing had happened.

Though damage to his body was superficial, Naruto could see the sweat seeping through his clothes, how Lee's chest rose and fell in quick steady breaths. The blonde grinned, now we're talking...

Lee ceased his assault momentarily to regain his breath, which already was sending alarms. He knew his limits, Gai-sensei made sure pushed them regularly. His intense training regime wasn't enough to tire him this much anymore, and his fight with Naruto-kun wasn't nowhere near long enough yet for his body to start feeling taxed.

And yet somehow, his limbs felt heavier, to the point he was considering dropping his weights. His breathing was labored, as though he had been training with Gai-sensei. More and more he could feel himself losing speed and strength.

"What's wrong Lee," Naruto asked with a positively smug grin, "feeling tired?"

The bowl-haired teen huffed before shaking his head; "I am fine Naruto-Kun. Let us continue."

Genma's brow rose as Lee charged Naruto once again. _'He's gotten slower..._ ' It was also noticeable as Naruto was dodging the strikes slightly better. Then there was the not too subtle grin from the young blond.

It was about that time as Lee attempted several strong punches Naruto caught his wrist of his left hand. The wind escaped his lungs when the blond brought him forward planting his knee into the older teen's stomach. Naruto did it a second time causing Lee to lightly hack out some spit before a strong right hook was connected to the taijutsu expert's jaw.

Lee groaned as he stumbled back a bit holding his jaw for a second. That was a very good punch, having more bite no doubt to Naruto's crystal armor. Still, Lee could not shake something was amiss.

Naruto leapt at him, spinning through the air as he delivered a powerful kick that connected painfully with his right side.

Lee saw it coming, he could have dodged it, he should have dodged it but... his body just didn't react in time.

Why was he so tired?

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

"Oooo-kay what the hell is going on here?" Tenten wondered as she and the rest of the candidates watched the fight unfold. "I saw that kick coming from a mile away. Lee shouldn't be having this much trouble"

"Eyebrows had the edge at the beginning of the fight" Karui noted, "Why is he so slow now?"

Kankuro frowned, "Is it something Whiskers did?"

"You two don't remember their names, do you?" Haku muttered dryly, which went ignored by the others.

Neither Sasuke nor Sakura could fight the smirk growing on their lips; they knew full well why Lee was growing weaker. After all, Naruto had been practicing with his mother day-in day-out to use this particular craft against Lee.

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

Naruto kept on the pressure with strong punches and kicks as Lee tried to evade and block sluggishly. _'What is going on,'_ Lee felt a ping of frustration. His thoughts were interrupted by a strong round-house kick connected to his chin sending him mid-spinning before hitting the ground hard.

The young taijutsu specialist groaned as he struggled to stand up, his limbs felt like they were on fire. _'I just don't understand why-! Huh?'_ Lee's thoughts screeched to a halt as he noticed something on his right arm, near the elbow, a bit to the right. There was a line of kanji inside a circle.

Lee's eyes widened as he understood. He quickly looked at his other arm; right underneath his forearm he saw another marking just like the previous one. He frantically checked his legs, to his shocking realization he found two more, one in each limb.

Seals... Of course. Naruto's defensive stance during the beginnings of their match, merely dodging and blocking. He let him get close just so that he could press his palms over his body, giving the blonde the opportunity to place the seals on him without him realizing.

"See that you realized now huh?" Naruto said with a grin, "Yep, weakening seals. Nothing fancy, they're designed to sap away stamina and strength over time"

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* * *

From his place on the stands, the Inuzuka stared with wide eyes, "Lee has seals on his limbs?!" Kiba asked incredulously.

"Y-Yes!" Hinata replied with a nod, veins bulging at the corner of her eyes as her peerless vision perceived what regular eyes could not. Every chakra point on Lee's body was as clear to her as roads on a map, and there on his arms and legs she saw lines that shouldn't be there, overlying chakra threads that had been weaved intricately to interfere with the energy of his body.

Naruto had placed seals on Lee.

Lyn only giggled while Samenosuke chuckled; "You do know what Uzumakis are famous for?" The roguish redhead smiled at the teens.

Ino gave a confused look; "But when did he-" Her eyes lit up with realization. "That's why he stayed on the defense!"

"Correct Ino-San," Saito gave a nod along with his son. "Given Lee's teacher we knew Naruto could not compete with Lee's skills in taijutsu. But there are ways to leveling the playing field."

Gai stayed focused to the fight of the fight as Naruto was gaining more ground against his student.

Soon a tug came to the Mizukage's beautiful red lips "Very clever."

Ao gave a small nod glancing to the Uzumaki redhead; "It seems your son have a gift for seals like a true Uzumaki Kushina-Dono."

The former ANBU captain grinned with pride beside a smirking Jiraiya. "Now all that left is taking Gai's brat down." None of them was noticing the pleased gaze from Rasa's eyes as he watched the fight continue.

In the fighter's box Tenten only looked on in shock; "That sneaky little-"

"You that surprised?" Karui asked with a lifted brow; "He's an Uzumaki, seals are kind of their thing." She glanced over to Sakura and Sasuke who never stopped smirking as they watched on.

"Naruto-Kun had to let Lee-San close in order to put the seals on him. He knew he'd take some punishment but worth it for this." Haku smiled. ' _You can win this Naruto-kun._ '

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* * *

As Lee slowly got to a vertical base, though painfully, he regarded the blonde with an intense stare "Well played Naruto-Kun."

"I remembered those spars we had when I was training with Ten-Chan. And you completely destroying me every time," Naruto kept his grinned; "Knew I can't compete against because I'm just not at your level yet. So... brought you down to something I can manage now."

Lee rubbed his chest as he soon smiled back; "Ingenious plan! So it would not matter even if I took of my weights or not, I'd still get weaker."

"Yup." The blond crossed his arms; "Rather now drag this out Bushy-Brow. Wanna give up now?"

"Afraid I cannot," The spandex wearing genin shook his head. "I have much to prove, not to the people here but to myself. That hard-work can match natural talent."

At those words Naruto felt a light pang. Remembering his talk with the others about why he originally liked the thought of fighting Lee. Part of him still felt a bit like a hypocrite for all the things he said, but he had come understand that indeed had a lot of natural talent. From his lineage, parentage, and his bloodline limit, only coming out thanks to Shoton awakening. A late bloomer as Ero-Sennin put it, would he have still been the same knucklehead had his Shoton never came out?

He shook those thoughts away before taking a stance, respecting Lee's determination; "Alright, but you will keep getting weaker with those seals."

"That is fine, I work better under pressure," Lee got back into his fighting stance as well.

The two drew close again in an exchange of blows.

To see Naruto land his strikes on Lee, parry Lee's attacks and counter faster than Lee could react was surreal to Tenten, it spoke of how much weaker Lee was at the moment, and those seals Naruto placed on him allowed him to truly fight on even grounds.

And even then, the tide was slowly turning to Naruto's advantage, as Lee's stamina was being drained more and more which each passing moment. She winced when the back of Naruto's hand connected to his jaw, followed up by a series of quick jabs at his open midsection, finished off by a roadhouse kick.

And yet Lee fought on.

It was something to be admired, Lee's determination, despite his inability to perform jutsu. If he could actually mold his chakra properly then he could perhaps break off Naruto's seals. Of course, Tenten as a dutiful teammate would make seal-breakers for him to use, seals placed upon scrolls designed to dispel other seals. Lee could still use ninja tools just by applying chakra to them.

...But he had refused to carry any of them for this fight, no matter how much Tenten had insisted on it.

That stubborn knucklehead, so determined to prove he could be a great ninja with taijutsu alone his mind closed itself to other avenues and strategy.

Yugito, who now sat beside Samui and Omoi lifts a brow; "Why isn't that guy trying to use any ninja tools or seal-breakers?"

"Didn't Naruto say that Lee guy was a Taijutsu nut?" Omoi brought up watching the bout intently.

At that Samui shook his head; "He won't win by simply using Taijutsu." A ninja should be more versatile and adaptive with their skills for any enemy that comes for them.

Having gained some good distance Lee caught his breath after Naruto barrage of strikes. The older teen had to admit his blond opponent has improved a great deal in his Taijutsu. Naruto had come a long way from when they first sparred months ago. His eyes narrowed as the blond went through several hand seals. Soon a dozen or more crystal hummingbirds soon appeared around the young Uzumaki.

The crystal constructs flew with fierce speeds towards the bowl haired teen. It was glaring how Lee sluggishly dodged receiving a least several sharp cuts on his limbs and face. However Lee let his focus lax on the blond Uzumaki as a crystal chain shot through the hummingbirds and wrapped around Lee's wrist.

With a sharp tug the young Taijutsu specialist was swung through the air before being slammed to the ground with such violent force he coughed up blood. But he wasn't staying down, Lee groaned as he pushed himself off the ground with shaky limbs.

"Honestly, how hard is it to knock you out?!" Naruto called out with actual worry in his voice. He didn't want to hurt Lee this badly.

Round eyes looked at him with fierce determination, "I'm not about to lose, Naruto-kun. I have much to prove yet" He removed the weights of his legs, these two cracking the ground with sheer pressure as they fell to the sides. "They told us we would never amount to anything, but here we are... I'm going show to everyone what a genius of hard work can do"

"Lee..." Was defeating him that important to Lee?

Yes, Naruto soon realized. It took his teammate drilling common sense into him, but Naruto finally understood that Lee was as similar to him as he was different. They both wanted to prove themselves to others, but whereas once Naruto thought himself pitied against unfortunate odds concerning his own talents, the truth was that all along he had been born blessed, he just didn't know it back then.

Lee on the other hand...

"Isn't that what you always say, Naruto?!"

Chakra became visible as sheer pressure emanated from Lee in waves, the ground around him cracking as heated air picked up around him.

"This is my nindo, my ninja way!"

The Uzumaki's blonde eyes widened.

Lee's skin reddened, his pupils disappearing as he let out a howl of pure power.

* * *

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* * *

"Woah!" Choji exclaimed wide eyed, a gesture shared by many of the people sitting in the stands close to him. "What's Lee doing?" He had only seen so much power being released like this with his family's Butterfly Mode. And that was at the expense of converting their own body mass into chakra. He couldn't begin to imagine what Lee's body was going through to expel chakra in such incredible quantity.

The adults seemed to understand what was going on better, "No way" Kakashi breathed out in disbelief, turning sharply to look at an uncharacteristically stoic Green Beast. "Gai, you didn't!"

The taijutsu master closed his eyes, "I will do anything for Lee to achieve his dreams"

Kurenai's hands slammed over her legs as she directed a gravely reproaching glare at him, "Gai that was very irresponsible from you!"

Hinata's and Hanabi's had their respected Doujutsu active as they saw Lee's chakra network become flooded with pure energy. "So much chakra!" the youngest Hyuuga spoke up in shock.

"Are you mad Gai?!" Asuma's voice booms surprising and starling the kids and some people around them. "You know what that can do to a person!"

The older Uzumaki and lone Namikaze glare with strong disapproval shone in their eyes. Gai met all of their glares with one of his own; "None of you understand what that boy has been through to get where he is now."

"Can someone tell the rookies here what's going on!" Ino screeched pointing to Lee; "What the hell is he doing?!"

Kuro only kept her unflinching gaze at the scene.

Up at that the kage's box all three shinobi leaders along with Jiraiya, Kushina, and Ao were shocked before anger surged through the Uzumaki redhead; "I am going to wring Gai a new one!"

A sigh came from Hiruzen as he tipped his hat forward; "Unbelievable."

The Gama Sannin only glared with a deep frown on his face. Ao only shook his head; "To think a child could actually use the inner gates."

"It's irresponsible," Mei retorted harshly as she glared; "That technique is dangerous even for adults. The damage he will inflict to his chakra network and internal organs will be severe."

* * *

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* * *

Naruto only looked on with shock as Lee's body radiated with pure chakra. _'What is this?!'_

 **"He can use the eight gates!"** Matatabi's panicked voice rang in the blond's mind surprising him. **"The gates are unique tenketsu within people's body that keeps a person's chakra from overflowing and killing them. I encountered a few people who can unleash them. It gives a person unrivaled power but at an extreme cost! Those seals you used are worthless now, be careful!"**

Kurama snorted and scoffed at his sister's concern; **"Don't expect to use my power brat. Defeat this simpleton on your own."**

The feline Bijuu growled at her brother who did nothing but watch on. Naruto was quiet before frowning; _'Alright furball, I'll stop Lee with my own strength.'_ The moment, the 'second', he finished thinking that, Lee's fist was already being buried on his cheek.

It hit him with such force he was sent flying.

He bounced off the ground once, twice, thrice before his body rolled to a stop.

" **You were saying, brat?"** Kurama drawled out

 _'Hi mom!'_ Naruto thought back, his gaze unfocused as everything around him kept spinning, _'What's for breakfast?'_

Well, the green brat's fist sure did a number on him, but the fox just went along with it. **"Well, your ass handed to you on a platter"**

The blonde Uzumaki stood up groaning, slowly shaking off the mental cobwebs and regaining his footing. He tenderly rubbed his cheek, if not for chakra enhancing one's body his jaw would be dust by now... Was that a loose tooth he felt?

Naruto tried to think of how to fight his now much more powerful opponent, Lee's speed and strength had gone up so fast that his seals vaguely made a difference now. Heh, that Bushy Brows was something else, to push himself to such heights all to win against him. Breaking the limits of his body in order to achieve a power to be feared, no doubt it had taken Lee soul crushing training to be able to achieve it.

His praise for his opponent was cut short as Lee charged forwards once more, actually banishing from sight and reappearing behind him in a burst of speed.

"Shi-!" He hastily formed a shield of crystal from his hands, but Lee's kick crashed it immediately and sent him flying once more, this time the force behind his attack softened somewhat by having to break through his shoton first.

The moment his feet touched the ground again, Lee was waiting for him, attacking him with such velocity he was a blur. Naruto had to call up sheet over sheet of crystal across his body in order to resist Lee's relentless attacks.

Any type of counter attack was impossible, Lee was simple too fast. He blinked from one side to the other in a never ending barrage of punches and kicks, each carrying so much force that Naruto felt any of those strikes could end his defense faulted for even a second.

* * *

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* * *

The eyes of everyone in the stadium darted from one place to another in an effort to keep up with the green spandex wearing genin, almost like one would follow the ball of a pinball machine.

"Okay seriously, what the hell?" Kiba blurted, eyes wide in disbelief, "I had no idea Lee could do something like this"

"To have actually opened enough gates like that at his age" Saito mused, awe laced in his voice, "Unbelievable..."

Gai smiled with pride, something that the other teachers felt he shouldn't really be feeling considering what he taught Lee was very much life-threatening. "That is the power of my dear student's hard work"

"This is more than hard work, Gai" Kakashi felt the need to correct him, "Opening the gates at his age? Possible. Opening more than one and be able to resist the sheer power and being able to fight like that? That is more than hard work that is talent, pure in-born talent"

"A costly talent," everyone's attention was drawn to Kuro's steely voice as she watched on; "regardless of the outcome your student will be badly injured because of this."

Slowly a glare crept from the green beast; "Lee is aware of this as am I, which is why he only uses the Gates for a short window of time."

Hinata felt a knot in her heart as she saw Naruto being beaten around the arena. "Come on Naruto kick his ass!" Ino's shout caught the Hyuuga sisters by surprise as she looked at the Yamanaka who glanced at them; "What? I became his friend last month too you know, I want him to win!"

At the fighter's box Sakura and Sasuke mild glared at Tenten who glared back; "We all got trump cards." She huffed as she crossed her arms; "Just did not expect Lee to pull that out on Naruto."

Haku was silent as she gripped the railing watching on. She felt a cold knot each time as Naruto was flung around by the young Taijutsu expert. "Uh... Haku." Karui's voice had gotten her attention as the Kumo kunoichi looked a bit wary. "You're freezing the railing over."

Looking down and indeed the steel railing was coated with ice from her hands. Which soon vanished by an embarrassed brunette; "Sorry."

* * *

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* * *

Genma felt his eyes started to hurt as Naruto was doing his impression of a pinball. _'That kid can't take much more. Jinchurriki or not, he's got to end this quick or he's done.'_

Unbeknownst to the proctor, Naruto was following a very similar line of thought. Lee simply did not let up, he gave him absolutely no breathing room, no time at all to form a single handsign. He couldn't even spam his beloved clone jutsu.

He was being battered from every single angle, his body sustaining more and more damage from Lee's speed crazed onslaught, he just wasn't fast enough to counter, much less plan a comeback.

He needed to get Lee still, if he could do that for just one moment then-

The second Green Beast broke Naruto's footing with a sweeping leg strike, and before his widening blue eyes the bandages around Lee's arm unwrapped and coiled around him as though they had a mind of their own. Soon his entire body was incased into material, holding tight against him, unable to move.

Lee leapt high in the air, a long strip of his bandage connecting his arm to Naruto's trapped form. The blonde's mind swirled, knowing he was at Lee's mercy.

Lee tugged at the strip, and Naruto felt himself be pulled towards him.

Perhaps it was the adrenaline, the sheer desperation that leads him to act purely on instinct, regardless, his body moved. Crystal gathered in his arm, growing outwards into a cutting edge, freeing his arm. Naruto wasted no time and gathered chakra in his palm.

The taijutsu specialist's fist tightened so hard his knuckles popped, and screamed; " _Hidden Lotus_!"

With this one strike he'd finish the match and claim his victory, showing everyone the strength of a genius of hard work.

Too late did he notice the spiraling sphere of chakra in Naruto's hand.

" _Rasengan_!"

People outside the arena covered their ears as what sounded like the loudest thunderclap ever heard erupted. Everyone in the arena only saw a blur as the explosion rang their so loud some wondered if their ears were bleeding.

Two figures separated from the explosion going in the opposite direction with such violent force they skipped on the ground before Naruto and Lee slammed into the arena wall with such force both cratered.

All were silent as they lowered their hands from their ears and saw the two young Genin peel off from the wall and fall to the ground at the same time. One could hear a pin drop within the arena save Kushina being held by the waist by Jiraiya. The woman was practically a wild bear clawing at him as she tried to jump down to her son.

The kids in the fighter's box held their breath along with the Uzumakis and the people beside them.

Rubbing his ears, Genma looked at both combatants. "Must have been a reaction to all the chakra coming off Gai's clone." he muttered looking back and forth at the two Genin. At the moment he started to raise his hand to call it a draw, until he heard a cough from the Uzumaki.

Actually several more coughs came from the blond as he stirred and groaned. Felt like all his bones were broken yet he painfully got to his feet. He spat out some blood and saw how torn and beat up his clothes were before gazing around him. "...Lee?" It was then he noticed his spandex wearing friend was still unconscious and face down on the ground.

His typical clothes were a mess, he could make out how the fabric around his midsection had been badly torn up. The proctor knelt next to him and checks him over. "Winner by knockout, Naruto Uzumaki!" He declared loudly for all the audience to hear.

The cheers from his friends and family were deafening, his mother had to be the loudest of them. But Naruto's focus was solely on Lee, Genma ordered the medics to carry him out and immediately treat him, the use of the gates no doubt would take a heavy toll on his body.

 _'You went to so far... to prove you didn't need a bloodline or anything to win. And yet...'_

Part of him felt ashamed for having won, almost like he had proven Lee wrong, and in a way reinforced Neji's hateful arguments. It made him feel sick...

" **Oh spare me the self-pitying"** Kurama snarled in disgust, **"that brat nearly beat you, just a few seconds and you would have been done for. So don't give me any of that crap"**

 **"As crass as my brother puts it,"** Matatabi growled out before calming down in the blond's head; **"You earned this victory kitten. Rest up and get ready for the next match."**

So wrapped up in his thoughts he failed to notice Genma beside him; "Kid?" The Jounin's voice snapped the blond out of his head as he looked up to the older man; "You okay?"

"Y-yeah," Naruto breathed out with a sigh as he watched Lee being taken away; "How bad is he?"

"Don't know, docs will figure that out. He wasn't using the Gates too long, but it still would have done havoc to his body." Genma pats the blond's shoulder; "Well fought kid."

* * *

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* * *

He groaned as she entered the fighter's box, his friends thankfully did not crowd him much and let him sit down. He was too sore to even care about Gaara's murderous glare.

"Sorry I beat your teammate Ten-chan..." He said apologetically to the bun haired girl.

"Honestly" Tenten sigh, "I made seal-breakers for Lee to use in this fight, but he did not want them"

"That was his mistake then" Sasuke bluntly stated, though not unkindly for once.

"Seals or not" Sakura said, checking his arm, paying no mind to Naruto's hiss of pain. "Lee really tore you a new one"

"That's okay, I heal fast" Ahhh the actual benefits of being a jinchuuriki, he should be good enough for the next match. "Really, all the crap he gets for just using taijutsu? Pfft, those idiots have no idea what they're talking about" Haku rolled her eyes while looking the blond over with Sakura.

At that, the young weapon mistress smiled brightly, a gesture the blonde returned.

That smile did not go unnoticed by a pale, raven haired woman in the stands next to his family. That smile was... all too familiar.

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* * *

 _ **See ya soon!**_


	31. Chunin Final Exams Act: 2

_**Disclaimer**_ : We do not own Naruto

 _ **Co-Author and Beta**_ : Etheral-23

 **Chapter 31: Chunin final exam act II**

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Naruto sighed as he sat on one the benches. Fresh bandages covered parts of his body courtesy of Haku who patched him up as best she could. Currently the ice user and his rose haired teammate sat beside him watching the crowd cheer while ANBU fix the ground to be fight-able again. "Did not think Bushy Brow would go that far to win."

Near them Tenten snorted; "Lee is more stubborn than you are. True, it caught me off guard he did that, but had a feeling he would after those seals you put on him. Dummy always takes the hard route." She heaved a grunt crossing her arms.

"Thankfully he did not use the gates too long," Haku spoke up looking over to the weapon mistress. "Hopefully it won't warrant a surgery, but he won't be walking or moving a lot for a month at least."

Tenten gave the Kiri kunoichi a sideways glance; "You're knowledgeable."

"Zabuza-sama taught me extensively on the autonomy of the human body. Along with anything else I could pick up."

"You know it is still weird you call that maniac Zabuza-sama right?" Naruto drawled out with a squint. Sure he understood that after Haku told him about what happened to her growing up, and he did save her from starving to death. But it was still weird to hear.

Sasuke only partially listened as he was focusing on getting ready for his fight. Absently he looked over to Gaara who only kept his arms crossed with his eyes closed. Save small glances he gave to his fellow Jinchurriki. _'He's focused on Naruto, but I can't make any mistakes against this guy. His defense is arguably his strongest asset'_ The Uchiha thought, gazing at his right arm, remembering the lessons he received. _'I'll have to use the technique Kakashi-sensei taught me'_

That, and the fact he had a multitude of bombs Kushina made for him in case he needed something else to use against him. Hmph, he would win with his skills, those were the only tools he needed.

Naruto gazed at Gaara from the edge of his vision, those teal eyes of him ever filled with killing intent never failed to send a shiver down his spine. The mere thought that he could have turned out like Gaara still disturbed him immensely, to never feel anything other than the thrill of death, to live shunned and hated by the world in a level he hadn't even experienced before.

Gaara had been broken and reshaped by this cruel world. And Naruto's heart went for him.

He couldn't help it; he looked at Gaara and felt his pain as though it were his own. And he wanted to make it better.

He just... didn't know how to.

"Would the participants" His musings were caught off by Genma calling for the next fight. "Sabaku no Gaara-!" His voice momentarily faltered and stopped when Gaara appeared in a cloud of sand, having left the fighter's box in the blink of an eye. "...and Sasuke Uchiha come down to the arena?"

Sasuke rolled his neck, "This is it then"

"Be careful Sasuke" Sakura said with trepidation in her voice.

He rolled his eyes, "As though I would be reckless in a fight without that invaluable advice"

"Just take a teammate's concern for you, you jackass!" The pinkette seethed out, and the Uchiha allowed a nearly unnoticeable grin. He much preferred the side of Sakura that had more bite to her words and attitude.

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* * *

Mei leaned a bit forward from her seat; "Well now that the ground has been fixed we can see your son fight Kazekage-dono."

"And the Uchiha," Ao crossed his arms; "Can't say I'm not curious to see how the lad fares. But against a Jinchurriki..."

"I think we can say being a Jinchurriki may or may not be a factor in this. We saw Haku-san defeat Yugito-san." Hiruzen retorted blowing out some smoke as Sasuke appeared in front of Gaara near the proctor.

Rasa gave a glance to the Sandaime; "My son might surprise you Hiruzen-dono."

Kushina stretched beside Jiraiya before letting out an explosive sigh; "Got to focus on the current match. Will wring Gai's neck later."

The Gama Sannin rolled his eyes. As his gaze shifted with that gesture, he caught sight of a small bird flying overhead before nesting on the corner of the roof where the tiles ended. A very common type of avian, but there was only one small detail only those observant enough could pick up, a small black ribbon around its neck. The way the small creature turned its tiny head to meet his gaze told him all he needed to know.

His contacts had news for him.

"Would love to stay and watch the match, but I gotta do something" He said, pushing himself off the wall, walking with his hands behind his neck. "Tell me what I miss"

"Where are you going?" Kushina prompted with a frown.

"To take a dump" He casually replied as he walked away.

"Ewww!" Kushina let out a sound of pure disgust, "Can't you just say going to the bathroom?!"

He waited until he was out of their sight, walking through the corridors that lead into the building, to pick up his pace. A few bursts of smoke to transport himself via shunshin carried him through the structure until he finally was on the other side of the arena. Jumping over the street bellow to settle on a nearby building's roof.

He knew from whom this new info was from, and for them to contact him at a time like this... It was urgent.

He briefly wondered if it was something related to Yuma, a notice from her perhaps. A brief wave of concern flashed in his mind before reminding himself she could take care of herself.

The sage looked up to the sky to see the ribbon wearing bird fly down to his position, the small avian was just about large enough to fit into his palm, and landed on his shoulder, its beady black eyes stared into him with pressing alarm. "Jiraiya-dono!" The bird spoke with a soft man's voice. "Priority report; Code Alpha-six-eight-Beta"

"Gamma-nine-nine" He replied the authorization code with ease, as it was long engraved into his memory, indicating to his contact he wasn't an impostor. "What's going on, what did the Kageken find out?"

"The grandmaster received a troubling report from the scouts on Suna" The messenger quickly explained, "They found a corpse in the sands a mile outside of Sunagakure, hidden in a ravine"

Why was that so important? He wanted to ask, but the bird's next words made his blood turn into ice.

"It was the Kazekage's"

...Fuuuuck.

The Toad sage gave a stern look to the bird; "The body was Rasa? You're certain?"

"Verified and confirmed Jiraiya-dono. Rasa has been dead an unspecified amount of time."

"Then who the hell is posing as him in the Kage box?!"

The bird shook his head; "Unknown."

Jiraiya ran his over his face, well this whole situation just went to hell. But he stayed focused; "Message received, Return to Yuma."

The bird nodded before flying away. He needed to tell the old man and red along with the Mizukage. But without drawing attention to whoever is pretending to Rasa. "So much for a normal boring day." He muttered; "Need to find Inoichi." And vanished via shunshin.

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* * *

Hiruzen leaned back on his seat, mentally musing to himself about the oncoming fight; he couldn't help but worry about Sasuke. Young Gaara was a very unstable individual and would not hesitate to kill him. It wasn't his place to judge Suna and their methods based on his own morals, but he could speak from a more pragmatic side and say that turning their own Jinchuuriki into this was far more counterproductive than any-

 _'Hokage-sama!'_ A voice suddenly echoed in his mind.

Hiruzen blinked in surprise. He quickly hid all facial reactions that might have alerted the other two Kage's. If Inoichi was speaking to him telepathically it had to be urgent.

 _'What is it?'_ He replies.

 _'Jiraiya-sama needs to speak to you'_

 _'Very well. Connect-'_

He never got to finish as Jiraiya's voice was suddenly screaming in his head. _'We've got troubles old man!'_

 _'Calm down Jiraiya'_ Hiruzen thought in exasperation, holding back the wince from the headache it was causing him to have someone literally shout into his mind. _'What is it?'_

 _'I just received information from my sources, the Kazekage was found dead in the desert!'_

He couldn't react. Hiruzen used all of his willpower not to react at the sudden revelation. If he did, then the person wearing the Kazekage's robes at his side would catch on that something was wrong.

 _'Are you sure?'_ He asked. They needed to be certain of something so dire.

 _'Yes, I'm sure. Look, whoever is next to you ISN'T Rasa.'_

The Sandaime ponders that for a moment _. '...Inoichi!_ ' He commands with utmost authority. _'Inform Shikaku; tell him to put all our forces on alert! Help him with that. Tell him we need to guide the civilians not in the arena to the safe zones immediately!'_

 _'But... what about the people in the arena?'_

 _'All we can do right now is getting our shinobi ready in case we need to defend them. Whatever is going on, it is already in motion...'_ His gaze briefly shifted to Mei at his side. _'But first inform the Mizukage, share with her what you learnt'_

 _'At once!'_ And so the connection was cut.

He carefully watched as Mei's expression briefly shifted to surprise before she quickly hid it behind a mask of stoicism as experienced ninja were wont to do, making sure nobody could pick up something was wrong. But for all her years as a shinobi, Hiruzen had even more; he could pick up the subtle widening of her eyes, the way her jaw clenched. No doubt at this moment she was being informed about the 'Kazekage' here in the private stands with them.

She met his gaze out of the corner of her eyes, giving him a small nod to which Hiruzen returned.

"Oh Ao" She called out sweetly to his eyepatch wearing aid. "I'm a bit thirsty at the moment, be a dear and get me some lemonade would you? Just three ice cubes please"

Her shinobi took a moment to reply, the Hokage guessed this was a secret code in Mizu to relay information. "As you wish, I'll get it immediately"

The Mizukage was not alone with their secret messages, out of the Kazekage's sight; he tapped his finger on the left side of his seat over the armrest. Making sure Kushina could see the pattern and rhythm, the code was very familiar to a former ANBU like her.

 _K-A-Z-E-K-A-G-E-I-M-P-O-S-T-E-R_

He briefly felt the redhead stiffen behind him, and knew she had gotten the message.

He didn't know what was happening, but there was no stopping it now. They best they could do was weather the storm.

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

Sasuke kept his stoic gaze on his opponent who stared back with hint of apathy thought glanced to Naruto. "If you want Naruto you have to go through me first." He spoke up in a calm tone.

"I care little about facing you Uchiha, but if killing you wakes up Uzumaki from thinking he is a human then so be it. Then I'll kill him too" The chilling cold blood lust in his voice made a chill run up even the proctor's spine along with Sasuke's.

But the Uchiha steeled himself as he got into stance; "Not going to pretend I understand what turned you into this. But if you go after my teams then I couldn't care less, you won't get pass me."

Gaara crossed his arms; "You will only die slowly."

"Sasuke Uchiha vs Sabaku no Gaara, fight!" The proctor shouts as he gets a good distance away.

In the fighter's box Naruto stood alongside the others with Temari and Kankuro watching close by.

As the match was called, Gaara's cork popped off to allow the sand to come out, and a large amount of it was thrown around him instantly. Sasuke narrowed his eyes on the Suna ninja. Quickly, the Uchiha activated his Sharingan and ran at his redheaded opponent. With a single strike, Sasuke started gathering information, and quickly finding out who he was dealing with up close and personal as his fist hit the wall of sand that rose to protect Gaara, and then recoiled. Backing off, Sasuke jumped away from the counter-attack.

Sasuke steeled himself and took a stance. _'Alright. No time to waste'_. And then he moved in. Everyone looked in surprise as Sasuke become a blur, kicking off dust on his path.

Gaara's face morphed to mild surprise as the Uchiha's speed was forcing him to increase the speed of his defense. As every swift attack became too close to the redhead's personal space for him to be comfortable. He let out an annoyed grunt as sand immediately moved to capture his limb, but the young Uchiha was faster, he poured his strength on his left arm and stroke directly at Gaara's head

Though the sand stopped the blow, the Jinchuuriki's teal eyes still widened at just how close the Uchiha's fist was to his face.

"Man, look at him go." Naruto said with his eyes wide in surprise.

"He's really gotten faster..." Sakura pointed out what was on everyone's mind as they watch the fight

Haku gazed intently at the fight bellow. "Speed alone won't be enough against an enemy like Gaara." She turned to face her friends. "That can't be all your teacher taught him if he wanted Sasuke to survive this fight"

Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "We don't really know what all Kakashi-sensei taught Sasuke last month."

"We had some group sparing and training Kushina-sensei said we needed, but he really never showed anything." Sakura shrugged.

Chojuro adjusted his glasses; "M... Maybe he wanted show it off here."

Temari snorts. "The Uchiha can be as strong as he wants. He'll never beat Gaara."

Sakura and Naruto glare over to the smirking older blond who stands beside her younger brother. Haku glanced at them and back to the fight. "We shall see."

The sand soon spread and tried to encapsulate the Uchiha. Sasuke backed away, dodging through the several swipes of sand coming at him, each turning into another turning into sand clones of Gaara and kicking at him before surrounding him entirely. Each Gaara clone rushed in to try and land as many heavy blows as they could, only to hit each-other and explode in a huge eruption of sand in order to find the missing enemy.

Sasuke had to run for it, he vanished just in time, but the sand was spreading, so he climbed the wall and runs along it before jumping off with all his strength and launching with enormous speed, taking a cue from Rock Lee to appear behind the Suna monster. With a burst of speed, he started jabbing into the sand barrier around Gaara before jumping back when it erupted to stab him. They only hit air as Sasuke got away, only to fall as the sand under him slips his feet from the ground. The enormous amount of sand in the arena started to converge and encapsulate the Uchiha.

Seeing this, Sasuke quickly vanished again, just in time to swing around the sand and come in on the blind side where Gaara couldn't see, jumping in the air and dropping with a large heel axe kick. Again his attack failed when the sand protected the redhead, even from behind. He grunted as he channeled more chakra through his limbs, he ignored the burn in them as he pushed them further. The Uchiha ran at great speed around Gaara and approached from his back, the Suna-nin's sand launches itself at him, Sasuke quickly dodged, dashing past the attack and Gaara himself.

To the sand ninja, the Uchiha had failed in his latest assault. But the growing smirk on his face sent Gaara on alert. The hissing sound of a paper tag called his attention, and there on his feet he saw a small yet no doubt potent bomb.

Sand quickly formed in front of him, barely in time to shield himself for the blast. He could feel the heat of the hungry flames at this close proximity, his sand blasting away from the sheer force yet leaving him unharmed.

Until the Uchiha came through the smoke and kicked him in the face, taking advantage of the whole in his defense left by the explosive.

Gaara grunted in pain as he staggered back, the thought of someone hitting him making his blood boil.

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

"Well." Kiba said, clearly impressed. "Sasuke is a lot faster than he was before."

"He might be nearing Lee's level of speed." Chouji added.

"Indeed." Gai affirmed with a nod before shifting his gaze to Kakashi. "But tell me that's not the only thing you taught him, Kakashi. Against a Jinchuuriki, especially one as unstable as Gaara, that won't be enough."

"Oh don't worry." The masked ninja did his trademark eye-smile. "I taught him a few tricks."

"Hey Kakashi!" The silver haired Jounin along with the other senseis turned to a see a young adult in standard Konoha gear with short hair and almond-shaped eyes, he wore also a happuri-style hite-ate on his head. "Been a while senpai."

Hatake cocked his head with a blank gaze; "Yes, hardly see you around these days." though his voice was causal, internally his mind was on alert. _'Tenzō doesn't just show himself without a mask unless something drastic has happened.'_

The man's appearance soon got the kids attention; "You know this guy Kakashi-sensei?" Kiba asked absently sniffing the air along with his white puppy.

At that the man chuckled; "Call me Yamato; I've been on extended missions till today." He took a seat beside Kakashi, Kurenai, and Asuma. "Sorry I couldn't make it to the start of the matches, was busy at the moment"

Shikamaru's eyes lightly narrowed as he noticed something from Kakashi's posture; _'Something going on?'_

"Sadly you missed Naruto and Sakura win their matches, luckily you're in time for Sasuke," Kakashi eye-smiled patting Yamato's shoulder. "What's wrong?" He whispered to his former subordinate.

Yamato whispered back, "The Kazekage is an imposter"

The Copy Ninja thanked his long years of experience, he did not react at all, a fact that still impressed Yamato.

His lone visible eye shifted as he processed the information, not at a time like this. The Chunin Exams, so many ninja gathered in the same place along with, even with two Kages here... the only way someone would take such risk was if they actually had taken the necessary steps to carry out whatever it was they were planning.

And it so happened they had a very unstable Jinchuuriki in the middle of their village.

Well, these Exam certainly got interesting this year.

"...Orders?" He asked in a clipped professional tone.

"Inform the others" Yamato replied in a hushed tone. "Hokage-sama has ordered all forces to be on alert; we are coordinating with the Mist ninja"

"Alright" The Hatake nodded, "I'll break it to them... Except Kiba-san there" He nodded to the Inuzuka boy whose posture had suddenly gone very, very rigid. "I think he already heard us"

"Yeah" Yamato shrugged, "Dog hearing after all"

A grunt came from Kakashi before gesturing Gai over; "I need everyone's attention. Somethings happened." Asuma and Kurenai lift a brow along with the kids save for Kiba who just looked pale at what he heard. The masked Jounin glanced to the Uzumaki and lone Namikaze; "Saito." He gains the older man's attention; "You guys need to hear something."

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

Sasuke took in a few deep breaths, trying to regain his energy and wear off the fatigue building on his limbs. Gaara groggily stood up, pieces of solid sand peeling off his body, his sand armor damaged by the Uchiha's blows.

"Had enough?" Sasuke cockily taunts.

"...Hardly." The Jinchuuriki replies. The redhead coils his hands in a seal and sand began forming around him, enveloping him in a protective shield.

A savage grin forms on the Suna Genin's lips. "You brought this on yourself Uchiha... I will sacrifice you to mother, a make Uzumaki wake up to the reality of our world!" The sand slowly finishes as a large sphere of sand completely covers Gaara.

Sasuke narrowed his gaze before noticing the sand gathering until it became an eyeball. This one looked right at him. _'He's up to something... I can only use it twice; let's hope I only need once.'_

The Uchiha jumped back till he was at the far side of the arena. He clenched his fists; "If you can hear me Gaara! This ends now!" He yells, activating his Sharingan.

His hands go through rapid but very familiar hands seals.

In the competitor's stands, the other young ninjas watch in amazement. "Woah!" Tenten exclaims. "The chakra in his hand is turning visible like your Rasengan, Naruto." The blonde could only nod numbly.

Temari tightens her fist whereas Kabuto snarls, both were worried not only for their brother, but for the limits the Uchiha was driving him too. No doubt Gaara was preparing THAT technique while under the protection of his sand cocoon. They saw the chakra in Sasuke's hand was vaguely taking form and... Sparkle?

Yes. The chakra in his hands was flashing with sparks, streams of lightning emanating from his hand rapidly. Accompanied by the sound of what appeared to be chirping birds.

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

"WHA-" Ino nearly screamed if not for Shika and Chouji covering her mouth.

"I swear you and Naruto are the loudest people I've ever met," the Nara hissed in a whisper.

"The ANBU are already getting in position" Kakashi informed his fellow jounin.

Kurenai swept a critical look over the crowd. "Too many people, there could be infiltrators here"

"There most definitely must be" Asuma muttered in reply.

Gai's gaze shifted to the Kages in the podium. "Will the ANBU strike the imposter?"

"Hmph, don't think so. Too risky to act yet" Samenosuke threw in his two cents, rubbing his chin. "They could attack the civilians, if we're not careful they could have the whole arena hostage"

Hanabi's gaze darted between the adults as they discussed such a serious matter with a calm she herself did not feel would be able to keep. No spars between her and her relatives could ever prepare her for something like this; she had no idea what to do. Her instinct was to go looking for her father, hoping he would have the answers she desperately needed.

If what they said was true, then the imposter would most likely launch an attack on the whole arena. And she would be caught in the middle of it...

Hinata absently grabbed her sister's hand protectively, Hanabi almost considered the gesture to be her elder sister being afraid and in need of comfort and safety. It wouldn't be out of place for the 'weak link' of the clan as they all called her to seek refuge with her much talented younger sister. Yet the lack of any tremble in her grip, and how she seemed to keep her calm in a moment like this... Hanabi realized her sister wanted to reassure 'her'.

The youngest heiress of the Hyuuga clan would not admit it, but yes, she was scared, and very much welcomed her sister's contact.

"What do we do?" Soujiro asked his voice calm yet carried a tense edge to it.

"We wait" Lyn shrugged with her arms crossed, "Be ready for anything"

Kya just closed her eyes with and remained seated with an unnatural stillness to her. Almost like she had retreated to the corners of her own mind as she often did in meditation.

The Copy Ninja looked at the glasses wearing Uzumaki, "Karin-chan" He called, getting her attention, "Do you know what might be happening?" Whom might be behind this, was what he truly wanted to ask.

The girl stammered, "I-I don't know... I was only sent here to scout, I-if he's here then-!"

"Easy there, calm down" The masked ninja lifted his hand in a placating gesture, "Can you use your sensing jutsu?"

"O-Oh of course!" With that, she quickly closed her eyes and gathered her hands together. Her powerful chakra sense extending to an even greater range. The many, many signatures across the arena became clear to her. She fought to ignore the blinding bloodlust emanating from Gaara and the massive chakra sealed inside him, along with the equally powerful beings trapped inside Naruto and Yugito.

She reached out to the Kages, the feeling of the Hokage's chakra was unmistakable, the paradoxical hot and wet chakra belonged to the Mizukage, and the Kazekage...

Her red eyes snapped open in surprise, "I can barely feel him" She muttered in disbelief, "H-His robes, they must have seals that are heavily cloaking the chakra"

Confusion etched on the faces of the Genin while dread shone in Kakashi's eye. "Orochimaru." The Jounin beside him paled at her words, but the real terror came from Karin as her skin became ghostly white and eyes gleamed in utter horror.

"H-h-he knows," her voice a trembling fearful whisper as she shuddered; "He knows I-I betray him." Panic was beginning to set in as she muttered to herself frantically gazing around her. She knew Orochimaru would know, she knew, and she was going to-

A hand rest upon her shoulder stopping her panic as she saw Samenosuke knelt in front of her; "No one will harm you, certainly not that snake. Your family is here, and we will protect you." His voice soft but steely calming the poor girl.

Kakashi glanced to Yamato; "What will you be doing?"

"For now nothing, waiting with you until whatever is going to happen."

The silver haired Jounin nodded before noticing Kuro who kept her eyes on the bout. The raven haired woman had heard every words as her posture became straighter. Things were about to get more interesting. And this could help prove what she truly needs to see.

Their gazes returned to the arena, just in time to see Sasuke performing a very familiar technique.

Gai's eyes widened in realization, "I see, you taught him your technique"

"Yep" Kakashi eye-smiled, "Turns out he has lightning affinity, and his natural Sharingan makes this perfect for him"

"Sounds like… birds" Kiba noticed.

"A thousand to be exact" Shino, ever the analytical one, supplied.

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

Kankuro and Temari looked on from the fighter's box as they not only saw but heard the chirping from the lighting covering the Uchiha's hand. The eldest of the siblings bit her lip; "Gaara..."

"That's what Sasuke's been working on with Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked absently to her teammate who shrugged in response.

"That looks damn dangerous either way," Karui muttered beside them.

The civilians only saw the ground erupt as Sasuke dashed forward with blinding speed. ' _With the Sharingan you won't have any tunnel vision like I experienced after making and completing this jutsu,_ ' The Uchiha could still hear Kakashi's lesson from the other day. _'This is on par with Naruto's Rasengan however this is an assassination jutsu so I forbid you to use it in sparing against comrades.'_

 _'A technique made to pierce through any defense'_ Sasuke let out a valiant battle cry as he sped down to his opponent's sand shield. Spikes suddenly sprouted from its surface to stop the Uchiha, Sasuke deftly evaded the deadly sand spikes, letting him be scratched at a few parts of his body just to get close enough. He ignores the pain of the sharp sand slashing over his skin as he lifts his hand and jabs the lightning shrouded attack forward.

" _CHIDORI!_ "

Both civilian and Shinobi froze as Sasuke's hand passes through the sand sphere like a hot knife. The Uchiha remains where he was as Temari's eyes widen, seeing crimson starting the drip from Sasuke's arm.

"GAARA!"

Said Suna Genin only blinked in confusion. He slowly looked over to his right shoulder; "Why does it feel warm?" Putting his other hand on his shoulder, the retracting it. His sea foam green orbs widen.

There was blood on his hand... his blood.

Sasuke jumps away as the sand shield came down, revealing a stunned Gaara who kept looking at his bloodied hand in shock.

And then let out a blood curdling scream that echoed throughout the arena.

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

The crowd paid no mind to the lone hooded ANBU who stood guard behind them as they cheer for the last loyal Uchiha. In his guise Kabuto, narrowed his eyes. _'Seems Gaara got overeager. Well we prepared for this just in case. How will you handle this Naruto, Sasuke?'_

A man in the crowd claps for his favorite till he noticed a feather falling beside his face.

"What's this... thing...?" Each word became more and more slurred, tired, a heavy feeling of exhaustion began overwhelming him. It was getting harder for his eyes to remain open.

It wasn't just him; all around the arena people were falling asleep with lightening speed. The feathers carried with them a lullaby that none could escape from.

Indeed, even some of the ninja were beginning to be affected by this strange phenomenon's power.

From the stands, multiple chunin, jounin and ANBU leapt to action, immediately casting countermeasures to keep their comrades awake.

"G-Genjutsu..." Ino muttered, her tone drowsy as the sleep threatened to overtake her. One by one most of the genin next to her began to succumb to the feather's enforced slumber.

Kurenai, red gaze steeled with determination, jumped in front of them. Hands going through a quick series of signs as she deployed a countermeasure for the surrounding area around her. "Kai!" She shouted.

The young ninja felt as though a jolt run through their bodies, suddenly aware and energized, as if their bodies hadn't been on the brink of sleep just a few seconds ago.

Then, there were ninja everywhere in the arena, foreign ninja, wearing the symbol of sound. Killing intent leaking off from every one of them.

"What's happening?!" Kiba asked in alarm, Akamaru growled over his head.

"It started" Shino replied, his voice ever stoic even in the face of such odds.

The pale skinned woman gazed around the mild interest, "Hmm, unexpected" Kuro mused to herself, seemingly not at all perturbed by what was happening.

"Everybody stick together!" Asuma shouted as he took out his knives, all around him his peers steeled themselves for action. The three older Uzumaki brandished their weapons, ready to fight for their new home.

"Come on hun!" Lyn grinned wildly at her girlfriend, who chooses to remain seated despite the chaos around them. "Now it's a party!"

The Namikaze gazed at her for a moment before sighing, "I wanted to stay at home and read a book..." She slowly stood up from her seat, brandishing her sword.

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

The moment the feathers began descending, the Hokage and Mizukage jumped out of their seats and leapt up to the roof, gaining as much distance from the fake Kazekage as possible.

Only Kushina remained, who in a dash of blurring speed had drawn out her blade and stabbed the back of the Kazekage's chair, the metal cut through the material and into the robes, coming out from the man's chest.

"Got ya" She hissed.

To her shock, the man laughed and spoke... in an all too familiar voice.

"Oh, Kushina-chan, it warms the heart to see you once again my dear"

The body of the imposter dissolved, robes falling at the lack of a body to sustain them, as snakes poured out underneath the fabric, gathering a few feet before the seat and reforming into a human sized cocoon made out of serpents.

They parted ways to reveal the deathly pale face of Konoha's betrayer.

"You were so dearly missed" He smiled with all the sadism of a child who enjoyed removing the wings of a fly.

Her blade pulled out of the seat, violet eyes gazed at the interloper with great intensity, "Orochimaru..."

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

Years from now, Naruto would be asked about the events that transpired during the Chunin Exams. Looking back he'd see that perhaps that day was when it all truly began. A crux in the crossroads of fate.

But he'd sum it up with the words; 'It was a really shitty day'

The feathers that were sending the entire arena into the dreamland, for all their gentle look and nature, heralded a grave storm that was approaching fast. But his mind felt numb, his eyelids heavy, his limbs so very tired...

 **"Oi"** His tenant growled out, **"Now is not the time for napping"**

A jolt of his chakra, and Naruto was wide awake. He turned to his friends in worry, Sakura was fine, her own skill with genjutsu allowed her to resist, she was in the process of snapping Tenten out of it while Haku helped Karui and Chojuro. He breathed out in relief to see that they were okay.

His gaze then went to the siblings from Suna... who had chosen to stand far on the other side of the room, a fierce look on their eyes as they were seemingly preparing for battle. Kankuro had unfolded his puppet, and Temari opened her war fan.

The killing intent directed at them was easy to pick up.

"Oh crap"

Temari swung her fan.

A pure blast of powerful wind sent the group flying out of the fighter's box before they could react. Falling and landing harshly onto the arena beside a confused and shocked Sasuke. "What the hell!"

Karui groaned being the first to get to her feet; "Why'd she do that?" she hissed before gawking along with the others as Oto and Suna ninja were attacking Konoha and Kiri ninja. "What the hell is going on?!"

Her vocal opinion was shared by the others as they got to their feet. They tensed seeing Temari fly overhead with her brother and landing beside a wounded Gaara. "That clueless Kumo?" The Suna puppet ninja smirked smugly; "We're taking Konoha out."

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

The Sannin chuckled; "I must admit even I was surprised upon hearing you returned to us. How you came back has me most curious, would you care to elaborate for me?" Kushina only glared with fierce defiance as she held her sword at the ready. "Ah, Naruto had the same glare when I met him the in the Forest of Death. I wonder how Minato-kun would feel knowing his ideals destroyed his son's childhood."

Something snapped in Kushina as she dashed forward going for the attack. Orochimaru dodged effortless with his smile still on his face. ' _Her skills have not diminished in the slightest_.' The redhead slashed with deadly speed and viciousness. ' _Hmm, she actually seemed to have improved a touch_.'

The two were like a blur in the Hokage's box as the former ANBU captain kept on the attack while Orochimaru to her annoyance kept dodging. As much as she hated to admit it the man was even faster than she remembered. She knew it was beyond dangerous even for her to fight the snake alone, but currently her reason was replaced by rage. "You went after my son! You put that weird seal on Sasuke and wanted to do the same to Naruto! And you had manipulated Karin into joining, doing gods know what kind experiments on her!"

"Ah yes, I was rather disappointed that Karin-chan betrayed me. The experiments I had done before will feel like heaven after I am done her." He moved his head just a few inches from Kushina's blade as she roared.

"You won't go near her, my son or Sasuke while I am breathing!"

Oh the fire that came off the redhead was truly one of a kind when it came to Kushina. Such a wasted potential it was, there was just so much power in her lineage, and potential she had not even began to tap. Squandered and halted by that headstrong attitude of hers.

Even the snake sannin had admit that Kushina quite possibly had more talent than even her husband. A true gem that would likely surpass Minato one day, truly she was the legacy of her father Daisuke and her grandmother the Dragon Sage herself. Still, as much as he wanted to continue this game, he had work to do. Snapping his fingers, Kushina leapt back as the cement floor rose up between to become a wall. Orochimaru chuckled as two hooded figures, one average size while the other towering stood in front of the Sannin.

"As much as I would love to catch up with you Kushina-chan, I have sensei to kill and a village to destroy. Sakon, Ukon, Jirōbō, please tend our lady Uzumaki." The figures took off their cloaked hoods. The short one was a fair-skin older teen with straight, dark blue hair with a long bang cover his right eye. He wore green lipstick with dark markings under his eyes. Kushina swore she saw something behind his head.

The taller one was an imposing older teen with fair-skin and narrowed, slanted orange eyes with a stern look on his face. Three tufts of orange were on his head. Both wore the same kind of outfit similar to their master.

"The Red Death herself. It's an honor," Sakon spoke with mock reverence.

Kushina squinted as she looked closer at the pale haired individual. "Is that a head... behind your head?"

"This is my twin brother, Ukon"

The second head twitched, rising and twisting to the left over his brother's shoulder to give a side look at the redhead along with a chilling smile, "A pleasure"

"...Oh what the fuck have you been up to, you snake freak?"

"Come now Kushina-chan" The snake sannin spoke with an air of politeness, "That is a rather rude thing to say. But then again, your manners seem to be as lacking as I remember them"

"You know what else I still lack? Patience" She said, holding her sword in a stance.

"While a fight with you would be entertaining, I have more" He directed a hungry look at the two Kage on the roof, "pressing matters" He slithered up the wall like a serpent, leaving the Uzumaki to face his henchmen.

Orochimaru stood before his teacher, suddenly flanked by two more loyal followers of Sound. A man with literally three sets of arm, dark skin with black, shaggy hair tied into a ponytail and black eyes. And a young woman with dark pink hair and a black hat with pipe-like stripes and bandaged sides.

"Hello" He smiled, licking his lips, "Sensei"

Hiruzen's gaze was a sharp edge. "So, my sins come back to haunt not just me" He looked at the chaos around him, ninjas fighting against ninjas. The sounds of battle, of ringing steel against steel, of war cries and death. "But my home as well..." He took a deep breath, "I should have killed you so long ago, my student"

"Yes you should have," Orochimaru omitted still smiling. "And that was your one and only chance to have killed me."

The Mizukage narrowed her eyes; "I would not be quick to boast serpent. Your people have attacked Kiri citizens, and you will find our ninja not to tolerate such acts."

"Ironic given your nations bloodied history Mei-dono," Orochimaru chuckled dryly while he kept his gaze on his former teacher. "Tayuya, Kidōmaru, please entertain the Mizukage while I deal with my sensei."

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

Kunais clashed as the proctor was fighting off a Suna and Oto Nin. Keeping him away from helping the others as he glanced towards them. Naruto was stunned along with the rest by Kankuro's words. "You're betraying Konoha," Haku muttered as ice senbon formed between her fingers.

"Slow on the draw too Kiri?" Kankuro spoke with condescending tones. Beside him Temari tried to get close to Gaara but he only seethed as he glared at Naruto.

The young genin soon tensed as Baki appeared in front of his Suna team; "Temari, Kankuro, take Gaara and go. He is needed for this plan to succeed." His voice like steel as he glared at the Uzumaki and Uchiha along with their comrade.

"Uzumaki is mine!" Gaara growled in a hiss as he held his bloodied shoulder.

His older siblings nodded at their sensei's order and took their younger brother who protested before they vanish in a shunshin.

Naruto gazed around them seeing the fighting between the ninja. Oto and Suna showing no mercy to any in their path. The blond seethed as he glared back at Baki; "You won't get away with this you bastards!"

"It's too late to stop it, Uzumaki," the Suna Jounin spoke calmly as he drew a kunai; "I have my orders, which also involve you. I can't let Konoha keep their Jinchuuriki!"

None of them could react as the sand jounin moved at blinding speeds towards Naruto who could not put a crystal barrier in time. But Baki found himself stopped as his weapon was deflected by Yugao in her ANBU gear and mask.

"Neko-San!" Sakura yelled with relief in her voice.

"Don't stand idle!" Yugao yelled as she stood protectively in front of them; "Go help protect the civilians!"

"But what about Gaara?!" Naruto shouted. As a VERY bloodthirsty Jinchuuriki, Gaara was a high priority. "And there's fucking Orochimaru there!" He pointed at the roof of the great buildings; he was hoping to never see the snake bastard again... "Mom and Jiji are up there!"

Sasuke made a grunt, his hand reaching to his neck where the cursed seal was.

The ANBU growled as she pushed Baki back, "All the more reason for you kids to depart! Reunite with your teams, and then follow their orders!"

Baki threw a blade of coalesced wind at her, to which Yugao's blade shrouded in blue chakra and cut it in half, the attack harmlessly dissipating behind her.

"Just go!" They could almost feel the urgency of her eyes behind her mask.

Feeling a hand over his shoulder, Naruto saw Tenten giving him a placating look. "Your mom can handle herself; we HAVE to regroup with Gai-sensei and the others!"

Frustration shone in the young blond's eyes before sighing. He glanced to Yugao; "Stay safe Neko-Chan!"

"Understood!" The ANBU kept the Suna Jounin busy as the Genin left up to the stands and began to fight through the attacking enemy ninja.

Baki lightly growled; "You won't stop me woman."

Yugao said nothing as she readied for another attack.

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

Her heart would not stop pounding in her chest, it all happened so fast Hanabi had barely registered when Suna and Oto started to attack. The young girl was frantic as she stood beside her older sister who was fending off an Oto ninja while the rest were in their own battles.

She wasn't ready yet, panic coursed through her little being as her breathing was erratic. Hanabi yelped as she saw one of the Uzumaki, the younger boy, slash down an enemy with his katana. Blood sprayed wildly as the man fell to the ground. This was too much for her. Real life and death battle was glaringly different than training with her father at home. With senses being so erratic she did not see the lone Suna Nin dashing towards her.

"Die Hyuuga!" His voice snapped Hanabi's attention as she gasped seeing someone lunge at her.

Hinata's eyes grew wide but unable to rescue her sister as she still fought her own attacker. However a blur went passed her riddling Hinata's attacker with a dozen crystal shuriken killing him, and slammed into the Sand ninja with a crystal kunai plunged deep into the man's chest.

Naruto growled almost like a feral beast; "Go to hell." The man gasped for air before falling dead to the ground. Instantly the blond's mood shifted as he came over to a stunned Hanabi; "You okay kiddo?"

The youngest Hyuuga only stared at the dead Suna. Her attention soon went to Naruto who smiled at her with calm reassurance. "Hanabi!" Hinata yelled with relief as she ran over hugging her baby sister tightly. She looked at Naruto with immense gratitude, "Thank you" She spoke without the usual meekness in her voice.

The younger Hyuuga nodded stiffly between ragged breaths.

"Hanabi-san, stay close to your sister" Kurenai ordered, "We'll protect you"

Another time, young Hanabi would refuse the mere notion of her needing protection. Now she could not be separated from her sister, clinging to her hoodie desperately.

"My, my" The red eyed foreigner mused to herself, silky black hair swaying as she casually dodged a kunai aimed for her heart before delivering chopping strike to his neck. "I must say this is an unfortunate turn of events" She smiled at Naruto and waved at him, "Hello again" He awkwardly waved back.

Gai barely looked at the sound ninja he sent flying with a punch, "You fight with experience, my lady" Though his tone was mostly jovial and polite; she could feel the underlying suspicion.

"I assure you, I have nothing to do with this" Kuroreimei assured with an air of professional one might expect on someone who spent a lot of time in court. "I am neither on Oto nor Suna's side"

"And Konoha?" Naruto asked with raised eyebrow and a tilt of his head.

"My original choice would have been neither once more" She leaned to the side and kicked away a charging Sand ninja. "But given that they choose to attack me, I see no other choice but to side with you in retaliation"

Kakashi shared a look his fellow Jonin. They knew this could go wrong in a multitude of ways, but...

Three Oto Nin were decapitated in a single slash from a great sword that looked akin to a butcher's knife.

Yet two others fell to the ground and lightning coursed through their twitching, soon to be smoking, forms.

Zabuza chuckled darkly as he hefted his bloodied blade upon his shoulder, not far from him; Samui stepped over the burnt shocked bodies with her typical bored expression. Kouhei, Omoi and Yugito trailing behind them. Their teammates sighed in relief and joined them, asking each other if they were okay.

"It's a pain" Samui said, "But our chances of getting out of this alive are bigger if we join forces"

Well, Kakashi decided, today was a day for uneasy allies. He thought as he looked at the Kumo group.

"Beggars can't be chooser" Kurenai wisely spoke. And that was that.

Asuma's knives blocked the strikes from a sound Nin's Bo staff, parrying it away before delivering a powerful roadhouse kick that shattered his jaw. "We got reports of fighting breaking out everywhere in the village, Suna and Sound are launching a coordinated attack!"

"The whole village is turning into a battlefield" Kakashi grimly stated as he put two enemies into a genjutsu, making them fight an invisible enemy, two swiftly thrown kunai put an end to their lives unceremoniously.

"Tch" Lyn grunted as she spun her naginata, hitting an enemy ninja in the head with the shaft. "You guys must have done something to really piss them off"

Samenosuke twisted the arm of a Suna nin, using him as leverage to spin over his form, and then throw him at another group of his fellows, "They sure do like they want you dead"

"Why would Suna do this?!" Ino screeched in disbelief.

Chouji's enlarged fist came down like a hammer on several attacking Nin. "Go ask them!"

"We will figure this out later," Kakashi spoke with steel in his tone as he slashed through the throat of a Suna killing him. "For now we protect the village and citizens!"

Ice encased several Oto and Suna shinobi from Haku before being taken out viciously by Kouhei and Chojuro. Her back was covered by Naruto who shot several dozen crystal kunai into attacking ninja who came for her. It was then the blond took notice of a large commotion coming their way. "What's that?"

Kakashi glanced and paled as he saw Sand and Sound ninja being torn apart by none other than their nation's princess with least a dozen ANBU scrambling to follow her. Maiyuri's gaze was like steel as her katana sliced through her enemies with brutal efficiency.

 _'I serious wonder if Maiyuri-Hime has less control than Kushina-sama,'_ Kakashi weakly chuckled.

"Capture her!" One of the Oto Nin ordered with ferocity, "We muUMMGF!" His voice was muffled as his mouth was closed shut by the end of a sword's handle colliding directly with the underside of his jaw. The soft pink haired woman had closed the distance between them in the blink of an eye.

Her blade was sheathed swiftly with a metallic sound. Her fist was reared back and clenched tightly before burying itself in his gut. Blood and spit escaped his mouth, staining his mask.

His body became a blur as he went barreling through his comrades, tumbling them down.

Those who were fortunate enough to move out of them soon found their luck to be temporary, for they soon meet a similar fate before the fists and kicks that carried enough strength to shatter boulders. A Suna Nin slashed at her with a longsword, to which she took out her sheathed blade, parrying the blade with nothing hard covering. Maiyuri jabbed the sheath into his gut, making him double over in pain, leaving his hunched back exposed for her to deliver a devastating elbow strike that burying him on the floor.

Five Oto Nin charged at her, blasting at her with fire and wind, the resulting combination of elements forming a maelstrom of flaming winds. Maiyuri spun the blade in her hand, reattaching it to her sash on her hip, holding it tightly with one hand, her other gripping the handle tightly.

Her jade eyes narrowed in concentration.

One strike, one slash almost too fast to follow, created a counter current of wind that batted away the flames back to the ones that had casted them. They cried out covering their faces, though somewhat doused the flames still licked at the bare parts of their skin and singing their clothes, the hot winds assault them like boiled water.

Her blade on its guard once more, the princess disappeared in a blur of movement, reappearing behind the Oto ninja, sword drawn. Her enemies were frozen in place.

She stood up, swiping her blade in an arc and continued walking, slowly sheathing the blade once more.

'Click'

A metallic ring of the guard and the Oto Nin fell to the floor as blood erupted from their bodies.

"Wow" Naruto breathed out in awe, "Hey, she's that girl, the one Sakura hit!"

Funny enough, the jounin from the Leaf, save for Kakashi who merely sagged with depressing; all had a coughing feat at the exact same time.

Sakura bonked him in the head, "Don't say it like that, it was an accident!"

The Uchiha for his part just stared at the broken forms of her enemies; she had cut an impressive warpath. "She really knows how to fight"

The soft pink haired young woman smiled as she approached, "Good to see you again" She said to the young members of team 7, plus Karin and Soujiro. And nodded at their sensei, "Hatake-san"

Kakashi, Asuma, Kurenai, Gai and Yamato stood straighter and bowed at the waist with utmost reverence. "Hime-sama!"

Every genin blinked while Hanabi leaned out from behind her sister. "Hime-Sama..." They all muttered before all of them paled considerably as they realized who was before them. Samui looked genuinely surprised while the jaws of her comrades dropped.

"I struck the princess..." Sakura was ghostly white before she fainted and was caught by both her teammates.

Kuro glanced at the young noble while keeping watch. Maiyuri scratched the back of her head; "Well the truth is out."

"Maiyuri-Hime, PLEASE take shelter." Iguru asked in an exasperated pleading tone.

"I will not stand by and do nothing!" The princess yelled back with fire in her voice. "Suna dares to betray us with their allies of Otogakure; I won't leave my people!"

"Oh we should have sent her back to the capital when we had the chance..." A bird masked ANBU bemoaned at their hopeless situation.

"And I agree with them" Kakashi spoke, trying to reason with the princess as politely as possible. It's not like his career wasn't already on the line with one of his students having hit her or anything. "This is a very dangerous situation"

"And this is why I was trained" Green eyes narrow in defiance as she crosses her arms, "To defend my nation"

 _'To defense yourself, per your father's wishes rather'_ Was what the jounin were thinking, but none of them were brave enough to say it out loud.

"Whatever my father has to say, I'll hear it from him myself" The continued, "But my people are in danger, my subjects fighting for their nation. I just can't stay idle, I need to be here" Her gaze softened just a touch, showing not a regal princess, but a desperate young woman who feared not for her life, but for the lives of others. "Please"

Oh gods damn it all...

"...We will watch over you" The Copy-Nin replied with a long drawn out breath, which his peers shared.

"Is it wise?" Sasuke asked while in the process of waking Sakura up, that is by touching her necks with two fingers laced with electricity; he ignored her pained jolt as she sat up wide awake if twitchy. "If she gets hurt..."

"Maiyuri-sama is one of the best warriors in the nation" Asuma muttered to him in reply, "Easily S-Class"

...Huh. That was something. Sasuke filed away that information, his opinion on the princess raising a few notches.

Tenten on her part couldn't help but nod with approval; THIS was the kind of nobility she liked the most. The type that wasn't afraid to take matters into their own hands and do what was right. Hell, the fact that she was a badass warrior princess was just awesome!

Shikamaru sighed, "Man, this just got even more troublesome"

"We have the princess to watch over now, plus our home being in the middle of an invasion" Kiba laughed a bit nervously, "No pressure then"

"You think you're feeling pressure" Ino dryly said, pointing at her pink haired friend, "Look at that"

Sakura, having recovered from her fainting spell, was currently holding her chest tightly while her other hand was wrapped around a paper bag she had found on the floor. Breathing in and out deeply, they could hear the muffled maddened mantra that went along the lines of; "I'm gonna be executed. I'm gonna be executed. I'm gonna be executed. I'm gonna be executed"

They sweatdropped at the sight, "You're not going to be executed" Maiyuri muttered in a droning voice. "It was just an accident"

"Oh thank Amaterasu!" She discarded the bag and went down on her knees and bowed. "Thank you hime-sama!"

"...Don't lose your head Sakura" Naruto squints.

"I'm not gonna!" She cried in relief, "Isn't that wonderful!"

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

The former ANBU gave a menacing look at to the three young men of Oto; "Normally I give folks one chance to back off. But since you work with the bastard who went after my son." She raised her sword up in an attack stance. "All three of you are going to die today."

Jirōbō gave alight grunt; "Afraid that will not happen Kushina-dono." The large teen spoke rather politely in a calm tone.

"I agree with my friend here," Sakon smirked along with Ukon; "This village is going to burn, Karin will be punished for her betrayal, and your son along with the Uchiha will be joining us." His smirk grew more sinister; "And if you possibly survive us beating you down, Orochimaru-sama will revel in adding you for his research."

Kushina's glare only grew fiercer but said nothing. Though battles raged around them, they tuned out the noise as readied themselves for the fight to come.

Without further ado, Jirōbō slammed his hands upon the floor, the section of the building trembled as brick and stone broke away around her, rising up as they enclosed the area and trapped her inside a dome of pure stone. Kushina looked left to right, trying to find an opening but to no avail, there was no light here, and she suspected it was also sealed shut so not even the air could come in.

They had been warned repeatedly by their master, the Uzumaki woman was one of the deadliest kunoichi the village ever produced. Her friends knew her as a goofy, fun loving airhead. But on the battlefield she pushed that silliness aside as though it was a mere front, a facade, and surfaced a shinobi who struck down her targets without hesitation or mercy.

There could be no mistakes with her here, no second guessing; they had to eliminate her as fast as possible.

" _Summoning_ " He called out as he slammed his hands on the ground, " _Earth Prison Golem_!"

He invoked a giant construct of earth, so large that its head alone was bigger than Jirōbō's body, nearly sixteen feet tall in height. He commanded the construct to attack, and so it charged with clumsy steps, raising its great club-like arms and smashing the dome with all its might. Sending up a cloud of dust along with rocks flying everywhere.

The three of the Sound Four thought with satisfaction that they had won, as there was no way the woman had the physical endurance to take on such a blow and live.

Their eyes soon widened with shock as the dust dissipated, for the golems' had smashed against a golden barrier, generated by chains coming out of her body.

Kushina did not look impressed, "That all you got? Well then" The chains retreated back into her body and the barrier vanished, the golem stumbling forward as it no longer had nothing to support its hands on. "My turn"

She _moved_.

One moment she was in the ground, the next she was in the air right in front of the golem's head. Her blade became shrouded in water, which expanded in great torrents as though a river had been unleashed from it. Arching the blade over her head, she directed the water upwards, this one coalesced at took the form of a raging dragon.

The dragon roared as it smashed down upon the golem with such force it teared off its limbs easily, and it did not stop. The water was coming straight for them.

"Shit!"

Sakon and Ukon briefly considered using their Rashomon summoning to stop it, but there wasn't enough time to invoke their great defense, not at this distance, much less in a place where they wouldn't have enough room for it. So instead they jumped up to the roof.

Jirōbō hadn't been fast enough, the water crashed against him; it felt like he had been hit by a boulder. He was carried away by the strong current, gargling as he struggled to keep his head up and breath, only to swallow some of the water.

Kushina ran across the water without issue, its own powerful currents offered no resistance against the person who commanded them. Her blade held tightly in her hands as she zoomed in on her target.

Jirōbō was briefly aware of the patch of red amidst all the blue water; it was only when he was face to face with the Uzumaki woman that he realized it had been her hair. The water seemed to stop in their violent movements, slowly receding as they feel over the edges of the building.

Their bodies slowly lowered to the ground, Kushina's blade buried deep in his chest.

The pain in his body was... numbing, rather than raging. His strength vanishing by the second, "Orochimaru-sama said... you were strong"

Her violet eyes looked at him with disgust.

His own gaze grew dazed as blood dripped from his mouth. "This wasn't... even a fight... Forgive me, my-"

"No" She placed her hand upon his mouth, and pushed his body away from her blade, letting it hit the ground unceremoniously, dead. "No last words, people who follow that snake willingly don't deserve it"

Her violet eyes slowly shift upwards to Sakon and Ukon, their eyes quivered as their shared body trembled. Terror coursing through every fiber of their being at how easily she had dispatched. They quickly ran away, back to their master. As she jumped to the roof to chase them, brow rose as she swore she heard... a flute?

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

Mei stood motionless as Tayuya played masterfully on her flute beside her four-armed comrade who looked rather disappointed; "To think the Godaime Mizukage could be stopped by a mere genjutsu. I was expecting something better." Tayuya only rolled her eyes but kept playing.

Neither not noticing the faint smirk from the female 'kage'. "Hasn't anyone ever told either one of you?" A voice whispered behind the two surprising them and quickly turned to see Mei going through several hand seals before blow out a stream of lava! Both leap out of the way as Tayuya see the person she had trapped dissolve into water. "Always mind your surrounds!"

" _When did she make a clone?!"_ Thought surprised Kidōmaru smiled.

"Did you really expect such a weak level genjutsu could hold a Kage?" The auburn haired woman spoke in a condescending manner.

"I'll show you weak, bitch!" Tayuya snapped back as black lines covered her body. Putting her flute to her lips again another tune came out as three massive summoning clouds appeared behind her.

Kidōmaru lifted a brow; _'Really had no choice but to go full force after all.'_ Soon black lines cover his body looking like swirls. _'This woman took out a Jinchurriki by herself. Taking her lightly was be a rookie mistake.'_

The buxom Mizukage looked upwards at the sight of three massive ogre-like demons. One in the middle being shirtless and wearing dark pants. It was bald and had scars on its head, a blindfold wrapped around it. To its right was one that wore a dark green full-body suit with its hair covering its entire head and face. In its hand was a giant metal club. Lastly to the middle one's left, there was another that had its upper body entirely covered in bandages, its head twisted in an awkward position with several large needles pinned in it.

"The Doki," the four-armed teen smirked; "Tayuya's favorite pets."

"Oh my" The auburn haired Kage smiled that charming smile of hers. "Ogres? It's not easy to bind demons to your will. Very impressive, young lady" She had to applaud her talent.

To Tayuya, it pissed her off immensely, feeling she was not being taken seriously. "Shut up, you old hag! Kill her!" She commanded her minions with a tune of her flute.

The mindless creatures rushed with unnatural speed, cracking the tiles of the roof with their heavy footsteps. They cut a terrifying figure that would take the heart of lesser men. Ao himself was already sweating in fear as he stood by and watched... but not because of the demons, but rather because of the sheer killing intent his Kage was emanating.

Her hair showed her visible eye. "Old hag?" She muttered her voice low. "Old hag?" She repeated anger much more noticeable in her words.

The air around her became blurry as the temperature increased exponentially.

The Doki leapt at her, poised to strike down the Kage with savage brutality.

"I'm still..." Her eyes radiated pure hate, "well within marriageable age!"

Pure lava bloomed over her right hand, manifesting out of pure chakra. She held the sphere of highly heated liquid earth in front of her lips.

Then she softly blew.

A blast of pure volcanic power struck the Doki as they were a few feet away from her; the resulting explosion was powerful enough to shake the entire roof.

The Doki fell to the ground in chunky burning pieces.

Mei smiled at the horrified face the young musician was giving her, compared to Yagura, those demons were a child's play.

The moment she took a step forward, Tayuya began playing her flute with desperation.

It was then that the Mizukage realized that some sort of smoke-like substance was emerging from the Doki's remains, forming into worm-like shapes.

With far too many mouths for her liking.

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

"Jirōbō is dead," Ukon muttered as Sakon ran for the roof. "She killed him like he was nothing…"

"Quiet, we will not share his fate"

Ukon's eyes rose as Kushina soon appeared behind them running up the roof. "She's right behind us!" His twin cursed as he applied more chakra to his limbs to increase his speed. His attempt soon meant nothing as golden chains burst through the building forming a wall before him, making Sakon skid to a stop.

"Leaving so soon~"

Ukon saw chains sprouting down her back, borrowing through the roof. A damnable smile graced her lips, as though she saw all this as nothing but a game. Sakon snarled as he turned to face her.

"Look, I'm a busy woman" She said exasperatedly, "There's a lot going on I need to take care of, so do me a favor, turn yourselves in peacefully and quit wasting everybody's time"

Their teeth clenched in frustration, "You think we're beneath you? We're Orochimaru's chosen!"

"You're pawns" She bluntly stated, "A cut about the rest I'll grant you, but pawns all the same. Do you have any idea how many people like you I've killed on my way to real problems? I don't know what your 'master' was thinking bringing you guys here, maybe he truly is desperate if he hopes you will be of use in a battle involving an irregular number of S-class"

"Shut up!" Sakon snarled, "You have no idea the power our lord wields, he has yet to reveal his trumMFH!" Fingers phases over his mouth, stopping him from speaking further.

"She's goading you, you idiot!" His twin admonished. "She WANTS us to talk!"

Sakon's eyes widened momentarily before narrowing at the smarmy smiling Uzumaki.

"...Right" He spoke once his brother released his mouth. "Why don't we instead show her the power Orochimaru-sama has given us, huh Ukon?"

His brother smiled a predatory grin, "Indeed"

Kushina's eyes widened as the two literally split apart, the twins finally separated each in their own bodies. Dark markings spread all over her bodies as sheer twisted chakra began emanating from their forms.

"So he's done it" She recalled seeing something like that before, in Orochimaru's former apprentice, in Sasuke... "He perfected the Cursed Mark"

"Orochimaru-sama has allowed us to transcend humanity" Sakon announced proudly.

"Behold" Ukon seethed.

Their forms shimmered with energy, and right before her eyes their bodies changed. Their skin became red, a single long horn sprouted from their foreheads, half of their bodies hardening, becoming armor-like in appearance. To Kushina, they had taken the form of Oni, demons that hid in mountains and caves, pillaging small towns to feast on human flesh.

From observing Sasuke's mark, Kushina understood the purpose of the seal was to force natural chakra into the body, augmenting them greater heights akin to sage-mode. But... this transformation, it had warped their bodies entirely. Given them the aspects of demons, creatures that while unholy in some regards, were still very much part of nature.

"Transcended humanity?" Kushina saw deeper than that, "He twisted you into monsters"

"Call it whatever you like, in these forms," Sakon raised his claw-like hand.

Ukon finished; "You won't defeat us!" Both dashed forward with explosive speed.

It was like senjutsu! Kushina narrowed her eyes as her chains retracted in a blink. Her sword and the twin's claws clashed as all three moved with blurring speed. Sakon and Ukon while savagely strong with their strikes were also precise and well-skilled. Both moved in a fluid and coordinated pattern trying to overwhelm the Uzumaki.

"I was expecting more Kushina-dono!" Sakon's tone was condescending as he kept on the pressure. "Perhaps your twelve year absence dulled those legendary skills of yours!"

The former ANBU captain said nothing as she kept her defense. One blow from Ukon's armored arm, parried with the edge of her sword as sparks flew, the material apparently sharp enough to withstand her blade. She pushed him away and docked under the sweeping kick from Sakon.

Ukon jumped and delivered a powerful smashing fist that cracked the roof, and that was all it did as Kushina back flipped out of the way. Sakon jumped over his brother and launched a flying dropkick.

His eyes widened when Kushina dodged to side and grabbed his ankle.

They had thought they were keeping her on the ropes, her only choice being to dodge and parry their strikes.

They were just giving her time to get used to their pattern.

She spun him around and sent him barreling straight to his body, she noted with confusion their bodies didn't phase together like she had expected. Guess they needed to be in perfect sync if they wanted to fuse.

"You two have built your entire repertoire in overwhelming your enemy with your combined attacks, haven't you? But I can see that individually, you two lack raw power on your own. I have yet to see you use a single offensive ranged technique against me" The redhead stated.

The twins stood, growling at the redhead.

"Even enhanced like this your abilities only barely allow you to keep up with me. Honestly, high level genin could defeat you guys" She didn't sound condescending nor smug, but rather like she was stating something obvious.

They roared in rage and charged with wanton abandon, for a moment they had forgotten any sense of strategy or coordination, they just wanted this woman to _die_.

"See? Now you threw away the _one_ thing you guys had going for you" Kushina sighed in exasperation, she spun her blade as she calmly walked towards them.

The twins pushed so much power from the Curse Mark it was nearly setting their limbs aflame, as dark clouds of pure thick energy covered their frames. Identical armored reared back with hellish chakra to strike down the redhead in one single strike.

Kushina's chains weren't really that fast. Oh they had a very long reach alright, and their strength was best suited for entities made up of physical chakra, but she really couldn't miss at this range, with the twins charging together at her from the exact same position.

She thrust her palm forward, and a spread shot of golden chain emerged.

Sakon and Ukon's fists stopped just a few inches beyond the redhead's face.

Their demonic faces twisted effort as their whole bodies were tightly wrapped by those chains coming from her hand, from their arms to their legs, they even felt them constricting tightly around their chests, making breathing difficult.

Kushina merely raised her blade and decapitated the two of them at once. Her chains dissipated into thin air as she turned around, she didn't even wait for their headless bodies to hit the floor

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

Mei didn't know how long she'd been in this hellish lake, the needles that pierced her limbs were making her entire body melt, much like how those on the receiving end of her boil element often met their end. The pain had become numbing at one point, now all she could feel was the endless passage of time. The seconds, the hours, and days.

It had been a mistake, in retrospect, to destroy those demons so easily. Their physical forms had been torn asunder, releasing their spirits selves, and they swarmed upon her with great hunger, consuming her chakra. She could not hurt them, but her elements failed to harm that which lacked a body.

She could have gotten away at first, if not for the giant spiders that had wrapped a giant silky prison around her, with her chakra fading so quickly she just didn't have the strength to force herself out, neither from the genjutsu nor the webbing.

Sweat fell from Tayuya's forehead as she continued playing her notes, the Doki's illusion was very powerful, and their chakra draining power was the only thing that made it possible to trap the Mizukage. But even then it was an uphill battle, the old hag still had a lot of strength left in her, regardless of what her motionless form indicated, her chakra too vast to drain quickly.

It was only thanks to the efforts of Kidōmaru and his summons, pushing back against the ninja of Konoha and Kiri, that she could keep playing her melody. If her concentration faltered even for a moment, the genjutsu would end, but so long as her Doki were around, draining the Mizukage, they could still win.

However, before there could have been any semblance of victory, golden chains came out of nowhere wrapping around the spirit forms of Tayuya's Doki! The surprise attack caught the pink haired girl off guard enough for the Mizukage to dispel the genjutsu, the webbing was incinerated in a blast of heat that came off from her entire body, and get a good distance away to recover.

Tayuya cursed before seeing a figure land beside Mei. "You know beings like your summons are so much easier to control with my chains." Kushina remarked with a smirk.

"Impossible! How the fuck are you doing that?!" Tayuya swore as she snarled.

The redhead gave a dry glare; "I held the Kyuubi no Kitsune pinky, these three are a cakewalk compared to that ass."

Though panting Mei gave a grateful nod to Kushina; "Thank you, I could not have gotten out of that genjutsu while they kept draining my chakra."

"Of course! Us beautiful badass ladies have to stick together after all." Mei smirked at that as she watched the Uzu woman pull out a scroll; "As for these three."

Tayuya gawked as her three Doki were being sucked into the former ANBU's scroll as she unfurled it and held it up. It was done in a blink as the redhead cheered re-furling the scroll and putting it away. "YOU FUCKING TITLESS CUNT! GIVE ME BACK MY DOKI!"

"My Doki now~" Kushina sing-songed as her chains retracted. "AND WHO YOU CALLING TITLESS YOU FLAT-BOARDED BITCH, 40C AND PROUD OF THEM THANK YOU!" Mei did a double-take looking at the redhead's chest. She knew how to hide those impressively well.

Tayuya growled as she took one step forward towards them, only to be stopped by one of Kidōmaru's multiple arms. "Why do you think she's here? Sakon, Ukon and Jirōbō are likely dead"

"Yep" Kushina casually replied.

"Tch!" The spider summoner clicked his tongue in frustration, "Let's fall back to Orochimaru-sama's position" And begs he'd have mercy on them.

They vanished in a plume of smoke, the Mizukage and the Uzumaki hot on their trail.

* * *

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* * *

Orochimaru's body slithered across the roof, his lower half transformed into a long elongated tail as he swiftly dodged the barrage of fireballs coming from his old teacher's mouth. The Hokage's robes billowed with the intensity of his attack as he relentlessly continued his assault. Not pausing from the fire barrage coming from his mouth, he quickly went through a series of handsigns and transformed the section of the roof before him into mud.

Orochimaru's eyes widened as his body became stuck in the mud, three great fireballs coming straight for him. Wasting no time, he substituted himself with a small group of his snakes which were roasted alive. He landed various meters further away from his teacher, a pool of flaming mud between them.

"My" The snake sannin grinned, "Your attacks are still impressive, sensei. But I can't help but feel they're slower than before. Is age catching up to you?"

Hiruzen said nothing, merely narrowed his eyes and took of his robes, revealing his battle gear underneath. He posed the very iconic look of a shinobi, a sight which could boost the morale of his troops at seeing their leader ready for to get serious like this.

Orochimaru's grin slowly faded as he saw Kushina and the Mizukage land next to Sarutobi. He did not turn when he felt his followers kneel next to him.

"Forgive us, my lord!" Kidōmaru apologized with shame and a hint of desperation in his voice.

"Hmm, 'tis alright. I should have expected the twins and Jirōbō to not last too long against Kushina-chan"

Kushina rested her katana over her shoulder, "If you wanted to bring me down" She grinned smugly, "You should have brought a thousand of them"

"Overconfidence leads to failure, Kushina-chan" It was something he would often tell her when she was younger.

Her eyes narrowed in anger, "Pfft, you're one to talk. Besides, it ain't overconfidence if you can back it up"

He smiled, "Indeed, on that we agree"

Kushina nearly gagged, feeling disgusted by the thought of her and the snake agreeing on anything...

"But you're quite right. If I am to bring down this miserable little village, I will need something a touch..." He bit his thumb, causing the others to stiffen in alarm, "bigger" And slammed his hand.

A great cloud of smoke burst forth, the shinobi of the leaf and mist remained on guard, preparing themselves to fight against a giant summon. Kushina did not care if he brought one, two, or even dozen giant snakes, she would cut them all down and then make belts out of them.

But this snake... this snake made her blood run cold and her arms go limp.

Massive in size, purple, with a black underbelly and multiple black rings running over his body, with a rather triangular head with that ended on four horn-like protrusions. His yellow reptile eyes gazed with immense hatred at the Uzumaki woman.

 **"Hmmm, so here you are the grandchild of Tsukiko"**

"N-No..." Kushina muttered in disbelief.

Hiruzen's fist shook with rage and indignation, "How much lower will you fall, Orochimaru?! You made a pact with THEM?!"

Though initially confused, realization soon dawned upon the Mizukage. She knew that snake, or at least, she had heard about him. The very infamous leader of a clan of serpents, known for their brutal rivalry with the dragon clan. Their battles had shaped landscapes and left tales and songs since many centuries ago. Their bitter rivalry and hatred for one another was the stuff of legends.

Such was their despise for the dragons, that snake clan had sworn to destroy even those who would stand by their side... a promise that had almost seen through.

"Manda" The Uzumaki seethed in loathing, "of the Kurokiba clan"

The snake clan that had tipped off Iwa and Kumo about the disappearance of the legendary dragon sage Tsukiko Uzumaki, whose presence alone acted as a great deterrence against an attack. They had shared with them every plan, every strategy, every route by which to attack Uzushio and leave nothing but a smoldering ruin, all to plunder their secrets and eradicate the dragon's allies at long last.

Kurokiba, the clan that brought forth the downfall of Uzushio.

 **"A shame we were not fully able to purge your mongrel clan completely,"** Manda hissed with disgust as he kept his gaze on Kushina who snarled back.

It was then the ground shook as the Kages saw a massive three headed snake break through the wall of the village. All around the village more snakes appeared as the giant serpents ripped through the ground, destroying many buildings and they began to attack Konoha and Kiri ninja.

Orochimaru only grinned with amusement as he saw the fury burn in his sensei's eyes.

The Uzu woman shook with anger as Manda bellowed; " **Bring him out before me, girl! Bring forth Genryu so I can tear into his flesh and kill him!"** His voice roared with hatred and malicious shaking the ground.

Mei glanced beside her seeing Kushina clinch her fists before biting into her thumb and going through the handsigns; "DIE YOU BASTARD!" The redhead roared slamming her palm to the ground. As an enormous plume of smoke exploded soon came a thundering roar as the chief of the dragon appears and glared with unquenchable rage.

 **"MANDA!"** The silver dragon's voice boomed.

Tayuya and Kidōmaru covered their ears as Manda's body coiled, letting out a hiss-like roar the massive snake lunged for the silver dragon did the same. The two wrapped around one another as began to fly over the village trying to snap their respective jaws at their foe. The snake sannin chuckled; "Can't recall Manda being this happy. He has waiting a longtime to get the chance to kill Genryu-dono."

Kushina slowly turned her now pure hate filled gaze back to Orochimaru; "I'm going to kill you..." Her voice was like ice and full of murderous malice.

"Kushina-chan, you might very well be this village's most deadly kunoichi. And I do respect your talent and lineage; but you're not close enough to be my equal." Orochimaru bemused as he took notice of ANBU joining beside the two kages and Uzumaki; "My we have gather a crowd."

"You're outnumber," Mei spoke with resolution; "surrender."

At that the snake sannin laughed; "My dear Mizukage I always plan ahead. I have just the thing for this quaint little reunion. Oh that reminds, Kushina-chan I have a present for you." Going through several handsigns he slammed his palms to the ground as three large caskets broke through the roof and stood in front of the snake and his remaining sound four.

Hiruzen narrowed his eyes, what evil was coming for them now? He felt a sense of dread creep up his spine. He knew that technique…

The snake sannin grinned. "Now, why don't you give our guests the greeting they deserve?"

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 _ **C-ya soon!**_


	32. The burning leaf Act 1

_**Disclaimer:**_ We do not own Naruto

 _ **Co-Author and Beta**_ : Etheral-23

 **Chapter 32: The burning leaf Act I**

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Dying was... not as bad as he thought it would have been. But the shame, the knowledge of their failure to save Uzushio, that pain was stronger than even a hundred, a thousand deaths. The ancestral home of his clan, all the brave kin who perished trying to defend it.

It felt as though his heart had been ripped from his chest.

The one thing he took comfort in was knowing some of his people had escaped, that his beloved Kushina was safe behind the walls of Konoha.

That was enough for Daisuke to finally lay down his arms and let the Shinigami carry his soul. It had been a good life, there were things he wished he could have done different of course, seldom was there ever anyone who lived without regrets, but it was a life he could take pride in.

The last thing he remembered seeing was the face of his friend, Hiruzen just had so much pain in his eyes that day, arriving too late and finding a battlefield full of lifeless bodies, both of his kin and the enemy. But even so, the image that remained with him in his final moments was the faces of his wife and daughter as he closed his eyes one last time.

So it came as a shock to him to find his eyes opening up once again, staring at a rather familiar surroundings, with even more so familiar faces around him.

"Where... Where am I?"

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Hiruzen took a step back, as if physically struck by the sight before him. His eyes welled up in tears, assaulted by the memories of seeing such familiar and dear figures once again, a mix of melancholy and happiness, as well as sorrow for how low his student had fallen. From the coffins came out three figures who by all rights should be resting peacefully after a lifetime of conflict.

Kushina may as well have been a statue by how still she was, yet slowly her body shook, wrecked by sobs as tears fell freely from her eyes.

Even though his exterior was a touch pale, and the paper like wrinkles and cuts around his form gave him an unnatural look, there was no way she could mistake that face. The same long red hair and goatee, the same violet eyes just like hers, inside two pools of blackness. A face she could see only in memories, yet it was here once again, right before her eyes. Her heart throbbed painfully against her chest, assaulted by the mirage of emotions that caused both joy and sadness.

Her trembling lips spoke the first thing that came to her, "Dad..."

Adorned in the traditional black robes with blue plated armor, twin uchigatana tied at his waist the Uzu hite-ate wrapped around his head. There stood the final Uzukage, Daisuke Uzumaki, who was currently very confused as he took the surroundings before him. This was Konoha, but that couldn't be, right? His shifted his gaze about before landing on a now much older Sarutobi.

"Hiruzen?"

The Sandaime could not halt the few tears that ran down his cheek. "...Hello my old friend." He bit back a quiet sob gazing at not only him but the other two beside Daisuke.

Mei held back a gasp beside the equally shocked ANBU as she stared at two legends from the Clans War era, and founders of the shinobi villages. Dressed in traditional but simple plate armor and black suit, though one was a dark reddish color with the other's blue with a white fur collar. Hashirama felt the wind dance through his long black hair while his brother Tobirama's red eyes surveyed all around him.

"We're alive?" Hashirama asked sharply turning his gaze to his brother who shook his head grimly.

"Afraid not brother," the late Nidaime looked down at his hands seeing the cracks in his skin. "Someone has used a jutsu I had created... And forbade its use." He frowned as he clinched his fists.

"The Shodai and Nidaime Hokages!" A male ANBU exclaimed in pure shock.

Another also made her voice heard; "And the Sandaime Uzukage!"

"I don't understand, what's going-?" Daisuke's words died on his mouth as soon as the noticed one particular figure standing next to Hiruzen.

She was older, a grown woman now, but there was no doubt in his mind that it was her.

He let out a chocked breath as his daughter's eyes met his own. "Kushina... my Kushina?"

Even through the sobs, she gave him a very joyous smile, "Hi dad..."

"O-Oh gods look at you" The elation he felt at seeing his daughter, alive and well, couldn't be put into words. "You're so beautiful; I see so much of your mother in you"

"Thank you" To hear her father's voice once again, and hear him compliment her so much made her heart swelled. Truly, this situation was both a blessing and a curse. "I got so much stronger too"

"Of that I have no doubt, my dear" Despite the gratitude he felt at seeing his child again, Daisuke could not ignore that this entire situation felt wrong, unnatural. He looked at his hands, seeing the paleness and cracks around them, "My body, it doesn't feel right. And..." He gave the two men at his side an astonished gaze, "Hashirama-sama, Tobirama-sama?!" He gasped in shock, though the fact that he didn't feel the need to breath was unnerving. "Last time I saw you I was but a youth, Shodai. And Nidaime, last time I met you was-"

"Mere days before my death" Tobirama declared with an edge to his tone, "This is Edo Tensei, young Daisuke"

"Ohhhh, it's you Daisuke?! My, how have you grown!" The Shodai exclaimed with excitement. "Hehehe, with that beard you look a lot like your grandfather Eiichi!"

"I..." Feeling at a loss for words, the third Uzukage merely took the compliment, "Thank you" Gods this was so surreal. "But if we are reanimated, then who...?"

"That would be me, Daisuke-dono" Stepping to the side, so the coffin before him would no longer block him from view, Orochimaru made himself known to the deceased Kages.

"Orochimaru?" The Uzukage was taken aback by the declaration. "But why?"

"The answer is simple, even if my reasons may appear complicated to you" He smiled in a way that made Daisuke question his mental state, "I intend to use you to destroy Konoha"

"What?!" His shock was shared by the two other Kages, "What in Amaterasu's light are you talking about?! You're Hiruzen's apprentice!"

"Oh" The snake sannin said with sadistic joy, "I'm afraid a lot has changed in your absence"

It was then Hashirama took notice of the battle throughout the village. Konoha and Kiri, were fighting side by side against Sunagakure and other shinobi he was not familiar with. And there was glaring fact of at least dozen or giant snakes were attacking and destroying the village! Anger surged in reanimated Senju before shock overwhelmed him at the sight of the dragon chief Genryu. The silver scaled dragon was locked in a mid-air battle with a serpent he knew from his wife.

"Tobirama!" Hearing his older brother's call, the silver haired kage looked at him and saw Hashirama point to the sky. Both and Daisuke gaze upwards seeing the dragon chief, and...

"Manda..." The Uzukage seethed out with rage. He remembered vividly that bastard snake ripping apart Uzushio with Kumogakure and Iwagakure forces beside him slaughtering anyone in their path.

"Why is the Kurokiba chief here?" The Nidaime asked out loud before he heard the malicious chuckle from Hiruzen's former student. The dots connected in the Senju's mind before glaring angrily; "You dare call yourself a Konoha Shinobi!" Orochimaru only laughed at Tobirama's anger.

"I have long cut ties with this villages ages Nidaime-dono. And made a contract with the Kurokiba." Those words brought nothing but a death stare from Daisuke as he continued; "All this to complete my goals. Destroying Konoha is merely a bonus."

A deep frown graced Tobirama's lips; "To think you are a student of Hiruzen..."

"Have you gone mad!?" The Uzukage roared, incensed by what he has just heard; "What have you become, boy!?"

"I have merely chosen my own path, Daisuke-dono" Despite the horrifying nature of his statement, he maintained a respectful tone towards the revived man. As though he saw nothing wrong with everything he had done. "Konoha is in my way, so it must go as well"

He raised his fingers in a half ram sign, and the Kages felt their bodies seize.

"Gah!" The Shodai gritted his teeth in effort, "Can't move!"

From his sleeves, the snake sannin took out three talisman tags, "Now, this will make you quiet and obedient. Much more suited to follow my commands"

Hiruzen was quick to shout his command, "Stop him!" And made a run for the four.

"Dad!" Kushina cried out in alarm as she and the others joined the Third, racing to make it in time.

Orochimaru was mere inches away from placing the talismans on their bodies, but the sudden shine above them accompanied by the huge condensation of chakra made him stop to look up.

There he saw a figure shadowed by the sun, yet still illuminated by the great sphere of chakra in his hands, plummet down towards their location. The sphere grew and grew until it was nearly five times the size of its holder.

" _Odama Rasengan_!"

Orochimaru and his remaining Sound Four jumped out of the way, yet the reanimated Kage, frozen still, remained in place. The raw chakra attack slammed down upon them, shredding their bodies' apart under its sheer weight and pressure.

Those on the roof froze as a figure stood in the smoke caused by the attack, "You really did turn into a son of bitch you know that." Jiraiya sneered as he was revealed as the dust settled. His clicked his tongue as he saw the reanimated Kages already reforming. "Was hoping that'd put them down."

Fully reformed, Hashirama shook his head and dryly glared at the person who just turned him, his brother, and Daisuke into paste. "That's a fine way to say hello." Jiraiya deadpanned at the statement.

Tobirama only sighed after regenerating beside Daisuke who stared at the tall white haired man; "Jiraiya?"

"Long time Daisuke-dono, was hoping that would have put you guys back to rest quickly."

At that the Nidaime shook his head; "You need to do more than that, but thank you for stopping him." His body seized once more, something his fellow reanimated Kage were also experiencing, feeling a compulsion, an order by the Edo Tensei he certainly did not design it with. "The technique is still controlling our bodies, prepare yourselves!"

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It had not been on Kya's agenda to get involved into village affairs, much less participate in a battle between them. The beautiful blonde had always chosen to stay away from such nonsense. Truly, Lyn was to blame for all this. She was just fine using her time meditating and reading, and would not have gotten involved in this mess were not for her lover convincing her to travel to Konoha and meet her kin.

But, once again, Kya was reminded that loyalty was an important thing. Even if she did not feel personally attached to Naruto, it fell to her to defend him. Not only he was Lyn's relative, but hers as well, she had yet to teach him of their clan, so she would not dishonor them by ignoring what was going on around them. She was honor bound to defend Konoha as well.

As the princess began rallying orders, Kya's mind soon drifted away. Not for a lack of interest, but because she felt something... off. There was an imbalance of spiritual energy nearby. It was profane, dark, fueled by blood.

Her sapphire blue eyes widened in disbelief, her shaggy hair swaying wildly as her face snapped towards the direction where that energy was coming from. "Necromancy..."

"What was that?" Lyn questioned looking at her intently in an uncharacteristic display of seriousness. Fitting, as the Uzumaki had plenty of experience dealing with such practices, namely hunting down those that performed it. The Namikaze soon realized all eyes were on her, something she was not really comfortable with. But now it fell to her to explain.

"There's been an influx of spiritual energy" Kya said, causing many eyes to stare in confusion. So she was forced to explain in more detail. "The kind that appears when the spirits of the dead are unrestful. But unlike a haunting this imbalance is too sudden, which means someone has just performed a technique to awaken the dead from their rest"

"You can feel that?" Naruto tilted his head in confusion.

"Yes" She did not elaborate further on the training and spiritual affinity she had to develop for her to acquire that capability. "And it's coming from there" Kya pointed at the great building of the arena, namely the roof where the Kages and their allies were facing off against Orochimaru.

Eyes turned upward as quite a few gasped at the sight of two certain people; "T-That's the..." Ino stuttered in disbelief.

"Holy shit that's the freaking Shodai and Nidaime!" Kiba's scream made a few winced at the volume of his voice.

Still, everyone was in a state of immense disbelief at the sight of the Senju brothers, literally brought back from the dead. However, the three oldest redheads among the group stare solely at the man beside the two Senju of legend. A tornado of emotions ran throughout their very being; "N-No way..." Lyn uttered with a tremble in her voice.

"He stooped that low just to get at Kushina;" Saito surprisingly spat with anger.

Overhearing, Naruto turned them; "Who is that with the Shodai and Nidaime?"

For the longest moment none said anything before Saito responded; "That is your grandfather Naruto... Daisuke Uzumaki."

Time itself felt like it had frozen in place for the blond. He could hear no sound, see no one move save himself as he gazed back at his... his grandfather... It did not even feel like he was even breathing, nor his heart beating as he gazed at the man whom his mother and the other told so many stories about. To him, Karin, and Soujiro.

Beside him Haku gasped at the sight of tears in her blond friend's eyes. "Naruto-Kun?"

He did not even register her voice, Naruto only stared up towards his grandfather. Unable to speak or feel the tsunami of emotions flooding him.

He had heard so much about him from his mother, seen the pictures, everything. But to hear he was now here? Naruto was absolutely floored, he didn't even know how to react in a moment like this. He didn't even understand how this was possible.

His first instinct was to jump to the roof, greet him, talk to him, there were so many things he wanted to ask him. But... right now was not the moment. Naruto did not forget he was still a ninja to his village, his under siege village, he had a duty to follow.

He could only stand there and await for the more experienced ninja. He was sure his grandfather would do the same.

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Even without the talismans, the Kages still fell under the compulsion of Orochimaru's technique. They were not robbed of reason, yet their bodies moved on their own, even their own willpower only did so much to prevent them from using their more devastating abilities, as well as warning the others. Orochimaru was kept at bay by the Sandaime, keeping him far away from the reanimated Kage, stopping him from using his talismans, while the snake Sannin's subordinates battled the joint forces of Konoha and Kiri.

Kushina, as much as it pained her, fought her father. Though her knowledge of his fighting ability came only from second hand sources, the only other person who knew more about his skills was Hiruzen himself, so she was the best choice for stopping the Uzukage.

Even in this battlefield, where so many pressing matters were going on at once, Kushina could not ignore the chance this presented.

"I need you to follow me!" She called to her father, knowing the Edo Tensei would compel him to peruse her anyway. She jumped down from the roof, and Daisuke followed suit, partly moved by his own will and partly because of the Edo Tensei's command.

They landed in the middle of the chunin exams arena, where the two of them were the only people present on it right now.

"Good, it's best to bring me to an isolated area" Daisuke said before sighing, "Look, Kushina, there is much we need to discuss. But it's best you seal me as fast as possible. Call on reinforcements, I'll try to force my body to lower its defenses before-"

"Not yet"

He blinked at his words, "Kushina, I understand how you feel, but it's imperative you-"

"I'm gonna be selfish here" She gave him an apologetic smile, the same she gave him whenever she played a prank and was found out. "Because there is someone you must meet" She took a deep breath, and shouted to the stands. "Naruto, come down here!"

Up in the stands, the group of multiple shinobi had observed as Daisuke was taken down to the arena by following the Red Death. Some of the older ANBU could only make shocked remarks at seeing the Third Uzukage once again. It was hard not to feel a sense of awe, not only was the legendary founder of Konoha brought back, but also his acclaimed brother. To the ninja of Konoha, it also brought forth a sense of indignation and anger at having such important people from their past be used in such a manner.

The kin of Uzu could only stare with mixed emotions at the form of their honorable clan leader and Kage. For the older generations, the last time they had met Daisuke was when they were kids, and that seemed like a lifetime ago.

Naruto took a shuddering breath. This was his chance! But the others... he needed to help them.

"Go" It was the voice of the princess that snapped him out of his stupor. Her gaze melancholic, "A chance like this is one in a millionth" Her voice was heavy, laced with emotion. As though she understood what he must be feeling. "Don't waste it" And smiled at him, it was a very charismatic gesture. "Regroup with us when you're done"

"Hime-sama..." He smiled at her in gratitude. "Thank youUUGH!" He yelped as he was yanked away from his shirt's collar by his aunt Lyn.

"Thanksprincessweoweyouone!" The wild maned woman spoke so quickly one could barely make out what she said before she jumped down to the arena, dragging Naruto with her, ignoring his cries of discomfort. Samenosuke, Saito and his son were not far behind them. They too wanted to meet with their clan leader once more.

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"Naruto?" Daisuke questioned as several people leapt down to the arena beside Kushina. He recognized the older ones almost immediately. He could not stop the smile growing upon his face; "You did survive... Saito, Samenosuke, Lyn..."

Out of the said three, the buxom redhead felt the tears well up in her eyes; "Uncle..." Her voice a quiet chocked sob.

Pride only showed in the reanimated Uzumaki; "You've all grown well..." His soon turn the young teens; "You three, you are clan as well?"

Samenosuke patted Soujiro's and Karin's heads; "The boy is Saito's and Maya's kid, Soujiro... Maya died during childbirth." Daisuke grimaced as he gazed at the boy seeing a bit of both of his parents. "This is Kirika's and Hisao's daughter, Karin." The roguish man lowered his head; "They are both gone..."

It was a hollow feeling in the late Uzukage's heart. He remembered all three when they were children. But knowing they had children brought a tearful smile to his face as he looked at both. "I am proud to meet you both."

His gaze soon turned to his daughter who had both her hands on the shoulder of a blond boy; "D-dad... This is your grandson. Naruto Uzumaki."

His... His grandson... Daisuke felt time grow still as he observed every inch of the young man he looked so nervous and eyes full of emotions. He saw not only his daughter in the boy, but also Manami as well. "My grandson."

Naruto became stiff at those words.

"K-Kushina I don't know what to say" The Uzukage stumbled into his words, the emotional shock was enough to momentarily stop any command the Edo Tensei was giving him. "To know that you found happiness and that you started your own family" The smile he gave her was unlike any she had seen before on him. "I am just... so happy to be able to see this. I'm sure your mother Manami is looking down on you, feeling oh so very proud too" He turned his smile at his grandson, pausing to think of the right words. Yet all he could come up with was; "Hi"

"H-Hi" Naruto found a smile growing widely on his lips, "grandpa" Saying those words felt weird, so wonderfully weird.

"I... I wish to talk to you about so many things. What things you like, what you dislike. What your hobbies are, what your aspirations are" His smile became downcast and mournful, "Maybe if I had done a better job, I could have gotten to know you before"

"Uncle..." Saito muttered, voice laced with sympathy.

"I failed to protect Uzu. I failed all of you" His fists shook as he tightened his grip. "You all deserved to continue growing in your rightful home. To raise your families on the grounds of our ancestors, to teach them the ways of the Uzumaki clan" Shame filled with every word, for him to have not stopped the destruction of his home was an unforgivable sin in his eyes. "As clan leader, as Kage... nothing of what I did was enough, the clan deserved better than me..."

Nobody knew how to respond at the man's self-loathing statement, they knew this not to be true, and hearing how the man felt made their hearts ache for him.

"Forgive me, honorable grand-uncle, but I believe you are wrong"

Everyone's gazes turned to Soujiro, the wavy haired young man looked at his uncle with usual calm and collected eyes, his voice soft yet firm in its respectful tone for the man. "From everything I heard about you, I believe there couldn't have been a better leader for our clan. Everything that happened was due to circumstances outside your control. A leader's worth is measured in the loyalty they hold towards their people, the fact you do not stop blaming yourself for the fall of Uzu, that you mourn for them, shows us how much you truly loved the clan"

Daisuke stared at the boy before a chuckle reverberated from his throat; "He is much like you as a child Saito." The Uzukage smirked before he shook his head, that boy… goodness, though it did not remove all his pain and guilt, it was a great relief to know the same values from their clan were passed on still.

"Uncle" Saito softly said, stepping right beside his son. "None of us blame you, we couldn't have asked for a better clan leader."

"Heh" Lyn scratched her nose, "If Tsukiko-baachan were here, she'd scold you're for moping around so much"

"Hmph" He smiled softly at the memory of their wise elder, "She would, wouldn't she… Thank you all" He said those words from the heart. Then gazed to Samenosuke and Lyn. "You two have children yet?"

"Me, not yet." The buxom redhead perked with grin before pointing over to the roguish Uzumaki; "As much as he's slept around I don't think he knows if he does or not." The group face faulted at the blunt words.

A deadpanning glare came from the reanimated Uzumaki at a sheepish chuckling Samenosuke. "Well I never stuck around at one place too often."

"And you bedded married women." Saito drones with an eye roll.

"Oh for gods-? Really Same?" Kushina said with disbelief and a touch of disgust in her voice.

"The husbands were all for it too" He tried to defend himself.

"Wonderful knowledge to take with me when I go back to the afterlife..." The Uzukage droned in the driest tone possible. "That you became a very, very shameless man"

"Hey now, sometimes I like to transform into a woman" The roguish Uzumaki added with a wide grin.

Karin groaned in a long suffering voice, "Anyone else feels the mood just died and we ruined the moment?"

"To be fair, Samenosuke ruined it" Lyn argued.

"Oi!"

Though if Daisuke was honest, the bickering, the pointless banter, it all carried with it the unmistakable presence of familiarity, the kind one would find with their own kin. Families were like that, they argued, they shouted, they made fun of one another... yet at the end of the day; you could always count on them for anything.

Right now these adults were bickering like children right before his eyes, and Daisuke felt he was back there again, in Uzushio, when they were all chasing Tsukiko-sama around. Just having fun, enjoying life as children should do.

Even though they had all been hardened by loss and tragedy, their eyes never stopped shining with the same familial love they all had for each other. They were still just as wild and rambunctious as always, truly, they exemplified they ever spiraling whirlpool that defined their clan.

"...Ah, I see it now" The third Uzukage smiled gently. "Our home, our clan, it's all still here. The whirlpool shall continue to flow ever on-wards"

Kushina blinked a few tears away, "Dad...?"

"I will never forgive myself for what happened to our home. But" He met her gaze warmly, "knowing you are all alive and happy, that you can still make something for yourself. It makes me hope there are other Uzumaki out there as well"

"It's not just us" Lyn quickly added, wanting to give some measure of comfort and hope to her beloved uncle, "We've only met a few in our travels, but there are those out there still. Eiji, he's with the fox clan, has a daughter called Tamamo. Old man Takuma and his son Hirohito, along with Umeko. Heh, Hiro actually married Umeko and they had a son, Shirou, he's an amazing smith for his age, learnt all from his old man and gramps" Her shoulders dropped slightly in disappointment, "They couldn't join us here, they were too busy or too far away, so they agreed to meet at a later date. But we've never stopped looking for signs of others. The clan is still out there, uncle. WE are still here"

At those words a grin grows on Daisuke's lip; "Then that is all that matters. The Uzu survived Kumogakure, Iwagakure, and the Kurokiba. One day the clan will be restored anew, I won't be there to see it with you. But I will be watching with Manami."

A few had to hold back the tears as they nodded. The Uzu would rise once more; all of them vowed it in their hearts. "Naruto." The blond straightened as his grandfather shifted his gaze to him. "I wish I could be there to tell everything I know. Teach you all that I could, but it wasn't to be. But know this, regardless of your path in life. I am proud of you, now and always."

Those words resonated deeply within the young boy as tears fell from his eyes. The smile that grew from his face glowed; "Thank you grandpa." His voice breaking and horse.

"We are Uzumaki; we do not break and bend to fate! We fight it with the fury of a dragon till it gives up in defeat!" Daisuke exclaimed with pride. "And moreover, when the world is at its darkest. Always keep smiling!"

Naruto smiled as indescribable joy filled his heart. This right here... this felt like the same kind of love the old man Hokage had always shown him. He could look into his grandfather's eyes and know he was loved, so he responded in kind, showing that despite only having met him for such a short time, he loved his grandfather as well.

"I will!" He said, closing his eyes shut, making the tears fall all the more. "I will grandpa!"

Daisuke smiled, showing all of his teeth and closing his eyes, giving him a peace sign. Karin let out a soft breathy laugh, truly, that gesture was a family thing. Soujiro curved his lips upwards in a very gentle and small smile; he understood their grand-uncle's words were meant for them as well.

The Uzumaki adults felt a great ease, for their younger generation had been entrusted with something precious. The will of a great man.

"Kushina" Daisuke looked upon his daughter, a mixture of emotions shifting rapidly through his expressions. "I... I know I wasn't-"

"Dad" She smiled at him, "it's okay. When mom died you threw yourself into your work, it was fine with it then but… I'm okay with that now. I knew you still cared the few times you and I were together. Those small times were all that mattered."

The Uzukage said nothing before smiling; "You did take after your mother." He gave a nod accepting his daughter's word. "I-" Daisuke froze in mid-sentence. The group gasped as they saw a lone Oto Nin appeared behind the reanimated and had plunged his hand into the late Kage's back.

"Orochimaru-sama" The Oto Nin said with fanatical loyalty, "Will not let you go so easily!"

The Uzukage could feel the presence of a talisman being planted inside his body. With his last remaining willpower, he spun around and grabbed the Sound ninja by the throat. One swift movement and his neck was snapped, he let the body fall unceremoniously to the ground.

He fought it with all he had, but the accursed item was beyond his reach, spreading its influence like a parasite.

Eventually, he stopped struggling.

Daisuke's eyes soon became blank as he unsheathed his swords.

"Dad/Grandpa!" Kushina and Naruto yelled before Saito stood in front of them.

"We have to free Daisuke-dono!" The older man drew his sword as Samenosuke walked beside him with two daggers in each hand.

"Hime, You and the others should help around the village and let us deal with this." Samenosuke spoke in a rare steely tone.

Kushina only glared at both; "That's my father I'm not going anywhere!" She spun around and knelt to her son; "But you are!"

"WHAT!?"

"Lyn," Saito kept his gaze on his uncle; "Take the kids and help around the village."

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" The buxom Uzumaki yelled in outrage.

"Konoha and Kiri need every hand able to help them. And I'd imagine Yuri would like to take a crack at the Kurokiba." Saito spoke back with finality.

Lyn gave him hesitant look before watching her uncle's figure. His eyes had lost their color, replaced by purely white orbs inside dark pools. The cracks on his form had disappeared, but somehow he looked even more unnatural than before. Kushina grit her teeth, she didn't want to resort to this, but her father was under Orochimaru's control. There was no other choice, this is what he would want, and she reminded herself.

Daisuke looked at the two Uzumaki men with unfeeling eyes and took a step forward.

Samenosuke threw his daggers at each side of the deceased Kage, they formed sealing arrays around them the moment they hit the ground, and joined in a pattern of symbols surrounding Daisuke.

The roguish Uzumaki threw his hands down, placing his palms on the ground and summoning a large temple bell that fell upon their honored clan head with an echoing sound. Samenosuke did not stop there, going through a long chain of handsigns.

" _Sealing Technique: Ceremonial Chime Impalement_!"

Spears made out of pure chakra formed in mid-air around the bell, flying at high speed and seemingly phasing through the material, where they most likely impaled the reanimated form of the Uzukage.

Naruto stared impressed at the elaborate technique. "Will that hold him?"

The bell suddenly shook and thundered, a couple of the chakra spears dissipating into thin air.

"I'm gonna go for 'no'" Samenosuke hissed, feeling the hairs on the back of his neck stand.

"Lyn!" Saito shouted, the thin strands on his forehead swaying widely with movement of his head. "Now!"

"Ugh fine! But these Konoha idiots better not attack Yuri!"

The wild maned Uzu and the swordsman bit their lips, and slammed their hands into the ground. " _Kuchiyose_!"

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

The battle on the roof kept at a fierce pace with Hiruzen facing his former student and Jiraiya with the Mizukage and ANBU fighting the late Senju brothers. Mei dodged several whips from wood that was spawned by Hashirama; "Very impressive skills young lady!"

The young female Kage felt the sweat bead off her; "Thank you Hashirama-dono." Really it was something to be complimented by such a legend. Circumstances notwithstanding however. Part of her had always wondered is the stories of his prowess in battle were talk. Would it be wrong to say she wished it was? Only fighting the Three Tails had been was this intense!

Her thoughts along with the others pause as a massive cloud exploded from within the arena; **"Well it's about time!"** A husky feminine voice boomed as the clouds parted revealing a gigantic black fox. **"Whoa, this place has gone to hell since I last been here!"**

"A fox!" Several ANBU yelled out getting a dry look from the Gama Sannin.

"Wow you guys are perceptive." He dryly quipped with an eye roll; "Say hello to Yuri, chief of the Fox Clan."

It went without saying foxes and the leaf village had bit a rough past on account of certain instances. A few were wary till they noticed a woman on the head of the fox glaring down. "If any of you tree hippy assholes think about hurting Yuri I'm cutting your balls off!" She hollered waving her naginata around.

Well, desperate situations allowed room for a few prejudices to be put on hold. If only for a while. They wouldn't say no to giant animals helping them when their village was currently under siege by that band of snakes.

 **"Hmph! I've not taste for snake meat"** A rough voice spoke as the rest of the smoke cloud cleared, revealing a giant gray wolf with a few scars running down its snout. **"I'll have to endure burying my fangs into their necks"** The female black fox snickered in response.

"And that" Jiraiya smiled with relief at the sight of the allies that had joined the fight, "is the wolf chief, Genjou"

The great fox chief looked at the air where currently snake and dragon did battle, **"Wow! Is that Genryu? Haven't seen that old serpent in ages. Prooobably should have told him I had a few Uzumaki under my care"**

 **"Bah! The dragons are owed nothing, they are part of our clans now"** The wolf chief spoke with firmness in his voice.

"Look, you guys don't have to get along!" Lyn shouted from atop her partner's head, "But we could reeeally use some help here, the Kurokiba clan are attacking!"

That made the great wolf's eyes narrow, **"The dragons are no friend of the wolves... but that snake clan, they I will gladly bare my fangs and claws against"**

Saito let out a soft sigh of relief. He had figured Genjou would be harder to convince, the wolves seldom fought for anyone that wasn't part of their pack. But you could always count on an old and extremely hated common enemy for others to become fast allies.

A frown marred Orochimaru's face at the sight of the Wolf and Fox chiefs, _'This will complicate things.'_

Hiruzen smirked at the sight while he held his Adamantine Staff. With a single eye open on said staff as Enma snorted; "Well about time those lazy oafs decided to do something." The monkey king scoffed.

Sniffing the air Yuri glanced down eyeing the Blond boy among the redheads; **"So that's where you have been hiding Kurama!"**

Everyone gave a few questioning looks while shock etched on Naruto's face; "You know Kurama?!" He heard a low growl from within his head.

 **"HAH! Long story kid!** _ **Yasaka**_ **says hello you lazy poor excuse of a false kitsune! …Well she would if you wasn't still mad at you!"**

Karin and the others saw Naruto wince so bad he held his head. "You alright!" His cousin was at his side with his mom there in seconds.

The blond said nothing, hissing in pain from the roaring inside his head that came from his Bijuu. "What the hell is all that about?!" Naruto asked once Kurama stopped roaring, going back to the depths of his mind, grumbling to himself in the foulest mood the Uzumaki had ever felt him before.

 **"Better ask him that!"** The black fox gave him, quite fittingly, a foxy grin. Lyn leapt down from her head and rejoined her family. **"Now, how about a contest? The one who skins the most snakes wins!"** She left the arena in a single bound, cutting an impressive sight as she proceeded to attack the closest snake in sight.

 **"Hmph"** The wolf chief did not seem to rise to the challenge. **"If this is to be a competition, then it should actually be a challenge instead such triviality"** Without another word, the great wolf joined the fox by leaping outside the arena, it landed pressing down its paws against a large snake that was in the process of attacking a band of Konoha ninja, driving it to the ground and biting down its neck.

"You know, even though we're fighting for our lives, I can appreciate the coolness of giant beasts fighting" Karin admitted, showing that she was very much an Uzumaki.

Once seeing her son was alright, now Kushina rejoined Saito and Samenosuke. "You guys go and help the village."

"But mom!"

"Don't argue with me Naruto!" The woman snapped garnering sharp a wince from her son. "Trust in me, Saito-nii, and Same! Now get going!"

The blond Uzumaki gazed to his grandfather who remained in battle stance. Feeling hand on his shoulder he saw Lyn give a stern look. No one spoke a word as the four Uzumaki left the arena.

Kushina bit back a sigh as she drew her sword; "I'll make this up to sochi once we get this done." Saito and Samenosuke nodded as they prepared themselves.

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

Battle reigned all throughout the village with Suna and Oto being relentless against Konoha and their new allies, Kiri. Corpses of all sides and several civilians lay upon the ground; Maiyuri seethed at the wanton destruction before her. There will be a reckoning for this senseless barbarism! Her katana parried against a Suna Nin before cleaving his head from his body.

Glancing up, she had to rub her eyes at the sight of a giant wolf and black fox now attack the snakes. Around her were Kakashi and the others taking on anyone who came for their lives. With his trench knives Asuma slashed the throats of several Oto and Suna before burning others with a fire jutsu. Near him Kurenai cleverly used genjutsu to disorient enemies into slaying each other.

Kakashi with Yamato and Zabuza were taking on several enemies along with a large human sized Cobra. "And here I thought I'd get bored today!" The Kiri swordsman laughed manically cutting down his current opponent, literally.

Hatake deadpanned casually snapping an enemies neck; "How Haku-chan stayed sane is amazing."

"Can we focus on the snake that want to eat us!" Yamato bellowed at both while holding the serpent at bay via… wood?

It was noticed by the others but the topic was discarded for another time. Samui made sure she recalled that as she roundhouse kicked her opponent. Near her, Karui and Omoi handled anyone coming for them with Yugito slashing through several enemies with her elongated fingernails.

Sasuke parried a flying kunai with his own, he crouched so Sakura would jump over his shoulder and delivered a strong sweeping kick at the oto-nin that had thrown it. As she landed she looked up to see a group of four more ninja running towards them, "Sasuke!" She held out her arm, which the Uchiha quickly grasped.

With a mighty tug he was sent flying towards the oto-nin, twirling in the air and throwing a multitude of kunai and in many directions, his Sharingan allowing him to see his targets despite the rapid movement of his body.

He landed, feet skidding on the ground, and smirked at the sight of the four enemy ninja slowly falling to the ground. Their bodies pierced with multiple projectiles.

"You call that teamwork?" Ino taunted as she and her teams got into formation. "Check out the Ino-Shika-Cho in action!"

Their opponent in question was a python the size of three horses. Chōji enlarged his fists while Shikamaru was already stretching his shadow, the Yamanaka prepared herself to stun the beast temporarily with her mind transfer... until the blonde haired beauty that was Naruto's Namikaze kin landed on the snake's head, and drove her sword through its brain.

She leapt down with a twirl, cleaning the blood of her katana as the snake fell.

"Hey!" Ino stomped her foot angrily, "That one was ours!" She really wanted to show off to Sakura, make her see the awesomeness of her team.

The messy haired blonde turned to the younger girl with an impassive gaze, and Ino felt herself froze before those steely blue orbs.

"...Or not" The mumbled pathetically, "We're in a battle, no time to be childish I guess..."

Kya merely walked away, her long sleeve flowing softly as she sheathed her blade.

"For being Naruto's relative" Chōji muttered, "She's REALLY intense"

"Tch. Why is every blond woman I meet this troublesome?"

That comments earned him a backhand smack courtesy of his _blond_ teammate which made him grumble.

Haku sent a barrage of ice senbon into several attackers, killing them, as Kouhei and Chojuro killing off any stragglers; "Relentless bastards aren't they!" The whip wielder yelled as he lashed out his primary weapon of choice, wrapping around an enemies neck. With strong tug he forced the Oto Nin into Chojuro's shapeshifting sword, now in the form of a greatsword cleaving the kunoichi in two.

Hanabi paled at the violence around her, clinging tightly to her sister who was acting as her guard while her teammates took care of their enemies. "No end to these assholes!" Kiba snarled with Akamaru barking. Sharply turning his head, Kiba growled soon seeing more enemy ninja charging for them; "Come on already!"

However, before the Oto and Suna could attack they were engulfed in both fire and ice. Pained cries came from them as the Inuzuka watched in morbid fascination and satisfaction. Soon two serpentine dragons, one green the other brown, both the height of Kakashi came down beside them.

"Need assistance?" The green dragon asked in a polite manner.

Finishing her opponent Hinata and Hanabi looked at awe with the two dragons, "Who are you?"

"I am Hui Zhong," the green scaled dragon lightly bowed before gesturing to the brown dragon who growled towards the Kurokiba snakes; "This is my brother Jian, we are Hien's older brothers." Recognition lit in Hinata's eyes as she met the cute little red dragon before.

Soon Naruto, Karin, Soujiro, and Lyn landed amongst their friends. "Thought I'd bring some help!" The blond Uzumaki grinned patting Jian.

Said brown scaled dragon glared with pure hate in his eyes; "I've been waiting to kill some Kurokiba!"

Upon seeing the reinforcements that had joined their enemies, the Oto Nin all back away in fear, cold sweat running down their heads as they stared at the growling dragons. The Konoha ninja meanwhile glared at them with such killing intent combined that it was making it hard for them to remain on their feet.

Half of the remaining Sound ninja turned away and run, leaving their comrades to their fate.

One of the snakes growled furiously, "Come back you cowards!" It barely had time to react when the two older dragons descended upon it, burying their fangs through its scaly body. "Help me, cowards!"

Hui Zhong and Jian turned out to be pretty strong and savage fighters, they tore the snakes apart, set the humans ablaze with fire or encased them in icy with frosty breaths, all the while Naruto winced at the unfair onesideness of the fight.

"Your brothers are pretty brutal, Hien"

The small dragon came out from the blonde's shirt through his collar, "They are? Hmm, I guess dragons and humans have different standards on brutality"

Maiyuri let out a soft sigh, for a moment they were free to organize. She sharply turned to one of her ANBU escorts. "Report, do we have a status on the other fronts?"

"The whole village has become a battlefield, Maiyuri-hime" A bird masked ANBU replied. "Inoichi-dono reported several fronts under heavier siege. But he's also informed us that the Suna Jinchuuriki has been sighted as heading to south-western forests"

Both Naruto and Yugito snapped their heads towards the princess at hearing that. "They cannot be allowed to deploy their Bijuu, it'll be a disaster" Samui calmly stated with an even glance to Maiyuri.

A chill ran down the spines of everyone at the prospects of a Bijuu being unleashed to attack them. Save another Bijuu who scoffed; **"That idiot couldn't find his own ass if he tried."** Kurama uttered in both Naruto's and Yugito's minds.

Matatabi only deadpanned at her kitsune brother before she shook her head; **"Ignore him."**

The fire princess was quiet for moment before speaking; "What areas are in the most danger?"

"The Academy is being attacked, along with the Jōnin Headquarters, and Archives." The Bird masked ANBU finished.

"IRUKA-SENSEI!" The current Konoha Genin among the group all yelled as they looked wide eyed.

Yamato paled; "The civilians are in the academy..." It was standard procedure to put all the non-combatants into the hidden underground area under the academy in case of an attack.

A snarl came from several people including the princess. These cowards would openly attack innocents, it brought fury into the group. Hanabi gazed up to her older sister who bore a horrified expression. "What do we do?" The young girl asked.

"Senpai" Yamato turned to Kakashi for guidance. In terms of both capability and experience, he was the one most suited to direct the course of action. Yamato knew first-hand what an efficient team leader Kakashi could be. Always formulating plans, back up plans, and backups for those backups with impressive speed and foresight.

So it came to a surprise for the wood style wielder when Kakashi merely gave him an impassive look with his sole visible eye and replied; "We await orders" And turned to face the princess. "Maiyuri-hime, what is your command?"

At that, most of the jōnin could not help but stare at him stunned. Kakashi, known for being a pragmatist on the battlefield and quick to plan and strategize, was leaving the decision making to the young princess. Her pale green eyes stared at him in open surprise, perhaps she more than anyone did not foresee his words.

Karui whispered to the closest person she was by, which happened to be Shikamaru, "Hey, smart guy. What's the Copy Nin doing? This is not a job for royalty" Untested royalty in the ways of war might she add.

Shikamaru rolled his neck tiredly, "I think it's obvious"

Ino leaned in and quietly spoke, "What do you mean?"

"He's testing her"

Asuma, having heard his student, bit back a curse with a click of his tongue. _'Now's not really the time, Kakashi'_

...But then again, when would it truly be?

Maiyuri-hime would inherit her father's throne one day. Her choices as a daimyo would determine the fate of the nation, be it in peace or in war. She had been given training and tutelage for all the skills she would need as the future leader of the Land of Fire. And in this chaotic world, to be unprepared was a death sentence.

Kakashi knew this, Asuma realized, something he noticed his fellow jōnin were beginning to understand by the look on their faces. If Maiyuri-hime was to become their daimyo one day, then she needed to be decisive.

Personally, Asuma knew the girl was strong, stronger than most jōnin he knew even. But to actually lead was another thing entirely. If nothing else, Kakashi would quickly take charge if he saw the slightest hesitation in her eyes.

But there was none there. Once her surprise had passed, a steely determination had taken root. She closed her eyes in deep thought, the ninja could guess the many variables and options that were going through their head.

"ANBU" She commanded, her voice strong and resolute. "You will go to the Archives, there is too much sensitive information there to let Oto and Suna get their hands on" Village and mission records, important Intel they on their operations, the identity of their undercover ninja on the field.

The ANBU did not protest to her words this time, instead they bowed with loyalty. "Hai!"

"Naruto-san" He stared up as she turned to face him, "I must ask you to track down Gaara and face him"

To stop a Jinchurriki, you use another Jinchurriki. What Naruto was guessing as he nodded; "Yes ma'am."

"I'll go too!" Yugito spoke walking beside her fellow Bijuu host. "Two Jinchurrikis would be more of an edge."

"We will go with them." Sasuke made his voice heard beside Sakura and Karin who nodded with determination.

Maiyuri gave a nod back; "Very well, but you will trackers to find them. And Gaara's siblings are with him"

At that Kiba raised his hand; "Team 8 can help with that." He smirked with Akamaru barking. Shino gave a nod while Hinata gazed down to her little sister and back to the others.

"What about Hanabi?"

"Leave her with me." Everyone sharply turned their heads to see Hiashi with a bandaged Neji with him approaching. "Assist Uzumaki and the others, I'll take Hanabi back to the compound."

Tenten quickly went over to Neji who gazed back at her; "Lee?"

"Too injured to help. ANBU are looking after him." The weapon mistress could not put her finger on it. But Neji's voice sounded less, cold... Huh.

"I'd like to help Naruto-Kun as well." Haku raised her hand.

Zabuza shrugged, "You wanna fight the mentally unstable Jinchuuriki? Fine by me. Just don't come crying if you die"

"Showing a lot of concern for her, huh sensei?" Kouhei deadpanned.

"If you are so worried about her" Zabuza retorted, "You can go with her"

The whip wielder still remembered his fight with the unstable redhead fairly well. "...Nah I think I'll help the others here. Good luck!" He gave Haku a thumbs up, who merely sighed and rolled her eyes.

"So, we have a team to face Gaara" Kurenai noted, "We will still need to form two more teams if we want to defend both the Academy and the Jōnin HQ"

"Which is why you jōnin shall head to your headquarters" The princess ordered. "We will need Shikaku-san's skills if we want to drive the enemy out of the village"

"Yosh!" Gai gave her a beaming smile, she winced when she saw the sun reflecting on those inhumanly shining teeth. "You can count on us, blooming flower of our nation!"

"Please don't call me that" Maiyuri dryly responded.

Kakashi gave her an empathic look, "You better not waste your breath, Maiyuri-hime" He said in a long suffering tone.

"Right..." Why were ninja so weird? She shook her head before addressing the others. "Me and the others will head to the Academy then" She raised a brow at the ninja from Kumo, "I'm surprised you haven't raised any objection at your teammate choosing to fight another Jinchuuriki"

"Ain't much I can do about it" Samui shrugged, "I won't be able to change their minds if they want to help you"

Karui and Omoi secretly fist-bumped with wide grins on their lips.

"I'll just wait for Raikage-sama to scold them"

Their smiles were obliterated.

"Very well then" Samui got the feeling that the princess refused to say 'Thank you' on principle because they were for Kumo. Whatever, she didn't care what these tree huggers thought of them anyway.

"Oi, princess" Kakashi and the other jōnin stared nervously at Lyn who spoke to Maiyuri in such an informal manner. "Kya and I have more experience fighting big baddies like these snakes. So we'll be helping the others around here" She didn't even wait for a reply, and began walking away with her naginata resting on her shoulder. Kya following close behind. "If you're still alive later, drinks are on me"

They watched the two jumped from to roof until they disappeared from sight, "I just want to say" Karin quickly spoke to the princess, "Her attitude is not a reflection of our clan in ANY way"

The princess smiled sweetly at her. "That is a lie, isn't it?"

"...Yeah" Karin's shoulders sagged.

"Pretty much" Naruto nodded.

"Indeed" Soujiro agreed.

Maiyuri let out a soft laugh. Oh these Uzumaki… She smiled at the group with determination, "You have your orders, let's save this village!"

A chorus of loyal shinobi of Konoha replied courageously, "Hai!"

In the commotion, nobody had noticed the foreign woman Kuroreimei was no longer with them, and hasn't been for some time. From the shadows she watched with interest.

"So… you too can smile like that in moments like this, princess" The queen muttered to herself. "They say it's a trait shared by those who inherit _his_ will" Another possible heir to keep an eye on.

But for now, she followed the blonde Uzumaki.

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

Iruka let out a harsh growl as he stabbed an Oto kunoichi in the throat with his kunai. The scarred Chunin had seen better days along with his fellow teachers as they had been battling invading Otogakure ninja. It was a shock to him and the others along with the students who were watching the exams via a television when an ANBU appeared. The teachers were floored upon hearing the news of the Kazekage's impostor, but took action quickly gathering the civilians for a possible attack.

They were halfway in the process when all hell broke loose and Sunagakure alongside Otogakure started attacking. Suna openly betrayed Konoha; this was going to have consequences felt throughout the lands of Wind and Fire. But that was for the higher ups to deal with.

Presently, the teachers who are not injured or dead along with a few jōnin were facing an onslaught of Sound Shinobi. A few overheard that they had come for the people so their master, Orochimaru, could experiment on them. Bad enough that traitor was after Naruto and Sasuke, but now he was after helpless civilians for Gods know what evil purposes!

Not while all of them drew breathe would they let Oto take one citizen of their village!

A female Chunin teacher slammed her knees hard into a male Oto before snapping his neck; "Rot in hell!" She screamed throwing his corpse into his fellow comrades.

Another fellow chūnin, a member of the Sarutobi clan, batted away at two Sound Ninja with Bo staff. He twirled the weapon with great dexterity before settling into a stance. "They keep coming! Iruka, we need to reinforce the main entrance to the Academy!"

The Umino knew their seal masters were in the process of making the building virtually impregnable, they just needed to a few more minutes to finish the seals on the main gates. The Konoha Nin needed to hold out as long as they could for their comrades to finish, knowing it carried the risk of being left outside.

Iruka thought back on the faces of the young children, so afraid and the desperate, the frightened adults who looked to them for protection. And the grim determined expressions on his fellow ninja, who were willing to lay down their lives for them.

There was no need for more to die.

"Take the others and go inside!" Iruka shouted, "I'll hold them off myself!"

"You crazy?!" The Sarutobi exclaimed in disbelief. "You'll die!"

"Somebody needs to protect the people inside" He said, his voice never wavering at the prospect of his death. "Just because we sealed off the building doesn't mean they'll stop"

"Umino!" The kunoichi teacher yelled

"Don't argue, GO!" Iruka declared as he tackled a charging Oto. Was it completely reckless and stupid for him to fight off a bunch of bloodthirsty bad guys? Yeah it would definitely be something Naruto would do without thinking twice. Images of him hanging out with the Blond Uzumaki popped in his head as he punched and kicked several Oto. He recalled the lunch he had with Naruto inviting him over to me his mother and family.

Was an experience meeting the Red Death, more over being called big brother by Naruto and Kushina-dono accepting it with a smile. Despite how weird that bunch was they made him feel like he was with family. Been a long time since he felt that feeling.

 _'Naruto's likely going to be mad at me, Hope he can forgive me if the worst happens.'_

Iruka somersaulted from the Oto ninja, spinning in the air before thrusting his legs forwards and letting gravity give him a push. His kick landed upon an enemy's face, the nose breaking upon impact.

The Umino landed on the ground, dodging through several kunai and shuriken as he went through a series of handsigns. Water chakra coated his feet as small pools formed around them, he dashed with tremendous speed, riding the water currents that formed on his path. Passing in between multiple ninja and delivering slashing strikes with his kunai, blood trailing behind them.

An earth wall suddenly got in his way, his eyes widened in shock, he couldn't dodge in time and ended up slamming his frame painfully against the rock. He grunted as multiple shuriken pierced into his vest, hopefully his uniform stopped actually hitting him, but the impact was still painful. Less fortunate were his right arm and leg, where a couple of shuriken had struck him, blood quickly pooling and darkening the area of his clothing. He swallowed his pain and gathered himself as three enemy Oto descended upon him with various bladed weapons.

They pierced his figure, but found no blood, only cracks of wood. Iruka's body was substituted with a log, and the chūnin reappeared near the swing by the tree. He gasped, feeling his chakra reserves starting to run low. He let out pained gasps as he took out the shruiken in his leg and arm.

"You've got a death wish, Konoha" One of the Oto Nin said in a rough voice.

"No more than you do, choosing to attack our home" Iruka spat.

"Heh" The ninja snorted sardonically before giving a lazy wave of his hand, "Finish him"

Iruka prepared himself as multiple Sound ninja jumped through the air, their weapons drawn and ready to strike down their target. Iruka didn't have enough chakra to substitute again, much less do another type of technique that could save him from this.

The most he could do was takes out as many of those bastards with him.

He prepared himself for his fate, giving a quick prayer to his heroic parents, and apology to Naruto.

Iruka was mere moments of being swarmed by the enemy ninja, when a blindingly fast blur slammed against the ground in front of him, cracking the ground and making a shockwave that sent the Oto-nin flying away and the chūnin to fall down to his back.

"You were brave for holding out so long, chūnin" Came a young woman's voice, followed by the neigh of a horse.

Iruka blinked a few times before recognizing the young girl on a fully armored horse. His jaw dropped in shock; "Princess Maiyuri!" Protocol soon override his surprise as the Chunin formally gave a bow. "Y-Your highness!"

"Geez Scars you can relax, we're in the middle of battle after all." Karui commented garnering the man's attention; "sup!"

Iruka had met both the Kumo and Kiri teams respectively via Naruto's persistence. Ino waved with a smile beside a yawning Shikamaru and alert Choji. With them was Gai's student Tenten who kept an eye on the perimeter with Kouhei and Chojuro, plus Saito's son Soujiro.

"Is anyone injured?" Maiyuri's voice regained the man's attention.

"We suffered some casualties" Iruka said with wariness, "We were halfway into the evacuation when the attack hit. Otogakure Nin has been attacking here to kidnap people for Orochimaru's experiments." The genin paled at the thought while the princess snarled with righteous fury. "We've been holding them off as best we could my lady, but our numbers were dwindling steadily."

"I see" The princess commented neutrally, no doubt holding back the urge to just charge in and slaughter their enemies for daring to harm her people. Her eyes narrowed with intensity at the multiple Sound Ninja still present over the academy grounds. By her count there had to be from twenty to thirty remaining. "You have done well, allow us to take over from here" She dismounted her horse and took a hold of her sheathed blade.

"Shall I trample them under my hooves?" The horse spoke, its chestnut hair flapping wildly as he shook with his long neck with a neigh.

Before she could answer, the trembling of crumbling building reached their ears as four great snakes the size of a small house lead by a giant black mamba the size of a five story building crawled towards the Academy. The Konoha genin and their allies paled at the incoming enemy reinforcements, while quite a few of the Oto Nin let out cries of premature victory.

Maiyuri gazed back at the incoming serpents before turning away. "Please, take care of them, Ushiwakamaru"

"By your command" The horse turned and began trotting towards the direction of the great snakes. Much to her companion's surprise.

"Wait, by yourself" Tenten spoke up in concern, "No offense pal, but you don't have claws or anything"

The horse let out a snort as its species was known to do. "I would not have become the Fire Princess' battle mount if I hadn't learnt how to overcome such limitations" With a high pitched neigh, Ushiwakamaru raised its hooves high in the air before slamming them upon the ground hard. " _Henge_!"

With the cry of the technique, the horse's form was enveloped in smoke, obscuring him completely. Yet it did not last, for the smoke was blown away by the wind created through the twirl of a large weapon.

Omoi's eyes widened, "Woah..."

The horse's form had changed dramatically, becoming centaur-like by acquiring a well-built humanoid torso, his chest adorned with a mixture of light armor and clothing, along with two thick arms. Said limbs were twirling a might halberd above his head, a powerful bladed head and a long shaft, with a plume of red hairs adorning the area where the two meet.

"Now that is cool." Samui uttered rather impressed by the sight.

The giant black mamba chuckled; **"It matters little your form, prey."** It hissed before lunging forward; **"You shall be our food!"** Soon the other serpents as the Genin and Iruka prepared for to fight.

Ushiwakamaru gripped his halberd as he charged for his foes at blinding speeds; "Only death awaits you!"

Iruka and kids only watched in awe as the steed moved at such speed they barely saw it shifted through the serpents and return to their side in a blink. Blood dripped from his weapon and soon sprayed from the countless slashes on the Kurokiba snakes. Their bodies fell like pieces of cut meat onto the ground.

"That is one badass horse." Kouhei murmured beside Chojuro who nodded in agreement.

Soujiro kept his gaze on the Oto; "We still have them."

At the sight of the now slaughtered snakes a few sound ninja paled; "Don't lose your nerve!" The jōnin among them snapped them out of their fear. "We still outnumber these brats."

"You assume number will lead you victory?" The princess questioned with steel in her voice.

Leaning forward to get a better look at the pink haired girl he soon gawked; "That's the fire Daimyo's daughter! Princess Maiyuri!"

That got the jōnin of the Oto's attention; "Well, well, well, not wasn't expecting a noble to actually fight! Or do you even know to use that sword? How about it guys, we take the princess to Orochimaru-Sama he will reward us greatly!"

Maiyuri said nothing as surveyed all the Sound Nin now eyeing her like easy prey for the kill; "By all means gentlemen" Perhaps it was Yuma's influence, but the words flowed naturally from her, "Come and get me"

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The Jōnin Headquarters was often mistaken with the Jōnin Standby Station by non-shinobi. The latter was a place for jōnin to spend some much needed downtime among peers located beside the Academy, whereas the former was where the Jōnin Commander carried out his duties and was not too far from the Hokage Tower, missions that did not require the Hokage's oversight were organized, and day to day matters regarding all file and rank ninja were overseen by the commander.

In times of crisis like this, the commander was required to organize the defense from that position, information being relayed to him by Yamanaka telepaths from all over the field.

This was why it was a prime target for the enemy.

Kakashi narrowed his gaze as they approached the large, square and utilitarian looking building. Fighting here had to be one of the thickest fronts, their opponents knew that taking out their commander, famed (or infamous depending on who you asked) strategist Shikaku Nara was a valuable target after all.

He and his fellow jōnin jumped from roof to roof, the closer they got they more they saw multiple of their ninja fighting against a large gathering of Oto and Suna Nin. "We need to secure this place and reach Shikaku-san, which means we need to clear it out" The Hatake spoke. Yamato nodded firmly at his order, it felt nostalgic to be following his commands once more.

Zabuza let out a bloodthirsty cackle, "Now you're speaking my language"

Asuma had his trench knives ready beside Kurenai and Gai; "Leave at least some alive Momochi. Like to know the full story of the reasoning for this ginormous cluster fuck."

"What's there to figure out Sarutobi? Bastards want to kill us all. So we kill them instead, simple." The dry deadpanning stares from the other jōnin spoke volumes.

 _'How did Haku-Chan stay sane with this guy raising her?'_ Kakashi mentally shook off the thought before getting serious as Oto and Suna Ninja spotted them and charged.

The six responded in kind.

Gai parried several punches and kicks before giving his own with devastating effect. Asuma and Kurenai worked in tandem with one another, the Sarutobi's Taijutsu skills mixed with the Yuhi's genjutsu prowess. Distracting or disorienting the enemy before receiving a killing blow. Yamato and Kakashi also teamed up with the ANBU's Mokuton used to great effect while the former ANBU captain dispatched enemies quickly.

Lastly Zabuza fought with enough space to fully use his deadly Kubikiribōchō, slicing anyone in half who was brave enough to get close. The few actually holding a sword made him sneer; "You wimps call yourself swordsmen!?"

One swing and all those swords were sliced, along with their wielders, heads rolled and Zabuza reveled in the bloodshed. Asuma's strikes with his knives lacked the same type of cruelty and bloodlust, but did not hinder their efficiency in the least. Kurenai gave the Oto Nin a taste of their own medicine a casted a maddening illusionary vibration of sound which disoriented them greatly, their hands tightly pressing against their ears in a vain attempt to block a noise that wasn't there. This left them wide open for multiple kunai strikes directly at their chests and heads.

Gai let out a continuous battle cry as his fists and legs became a blur of strikes, the Green Beast becoming a green whirlpool that sent anyone caught in it flying away. Yamato never wasted time with elaborate or complicated techniques, which was shown on all of his wood constructs for attacks being blocky forms rather than the famed trees the Shodai was known for, his pragmatic method served to slam multiple enemies at once with large blocks of woods, while Kakashi picked up the stragglers with swift kunai strikes.

"Hatake-san!" A fellow jōnin shouted near the entrance to the HQ, kicking away a Suna Nin. "Good thing you guys are here, our sensors are picking up something big?"

"How big?" Kakashi quickly asked.

His answer came in the form of a tremor, the building in front of them collapsed, from the falling wreckage emerged a giant snake the size of a five story building. Its scales were thick and stood out noticeably from its body, giving it an armored look.

"That big!"

The snake struck quickly with its tail, it hit multiple people at once, from Konoha, Suna and Oto, it did not discriminate nor did it seem to care it struck allies. Amongst those caught in the tail strike were Kurenai and Yamato, whose backs painfully collided against the walls of the HQ.

"Shit!" Asuma swore as he struck the tail with ferocity, but before his widening eyes the knives barely cut an inch into the snake's hide. He quickly back peddled when the tail shook and slammed against the ground.

Zabuza spun his cleaving blade above him, killing intent manifesting like the aura of a demon. He leapt at the creature and swung diagonally, yet even his blade was stopped in its tracks before the creature's thick scales.

The snake smirked arrogantly, coiling its body with great speed and delivering a whiplash-like attack, sending up dust and rubble through the air. The Demon of the Hidden Mist blocked with the blunt side of his sword to absorb the attack, and as a result was sent flying backwards.

 _'Hide's too thick for most attacks'_ Kakashi thought analytically. _'Will need something that can provide high end penetrating power'_

He unfolded his Sharingan.

Lightning gathered in his palm as he pressed it towards the ground.

Gai stared up with wide eyes, "That's..."

Kakashi was like a blur as Obito's Sharingan saw all the movements of the snake in near slow motion. He dodged the beast's tail as he leapt up on its massive body. " **Little gnat!** " The snake roared.

Midway up the jōnin took a large jump that left him open as they snake moved its head like flash. "Kakashi!" Gai yelled as the serpent snapped his jaws shut. Everyone felt dread till seeing a piece of wood stuck in its mouth instead of the Hatake's body.

Coming down from high above the snake was the former ANBU who's lightning coated hand struck through its thick scales and skull. The massive serpent froze in place as electricity surged through its brain and body. Kakashi pumped as much chakra as he could into his jutsu to make fully certain the beast was dead. After a full minute he stopped as the enormous snake fell to the ground dead.

Zabuza whistled while Asuma helped Kurenai and Yamato to their feet. "Not bad Hatake."

The silver haired jōnin only sighed covering his eye; "Hope they does not happen again." He gazed around the area seeing no more enemies he spoke again; "Let's get inside!"

The HQ was buzzing with activity, reports being quickly brought in while orders were dispatched through Yamanaka members who were seated in a special circular room in meditative position, their telepathic techniques amplified by the special sealing arrays they were sitting on. Leading them was Inoichi, who was no doubt juggling between dozens of minds at the time.

Standing by the desk was commander Shikaku, his rugged coat discarded in favor of going full tactical with his flak jacket. He looked over a map of the village with several pins over it. He picked up a radio and spoke through it. "Chōza, giant snakes on districts 2 and 5. Our forces need assistance"

" _Just came_ _back from 2. That Uzumaki lady with the fox took care of it. Heading to 5 now_ "

"Understood" Shikaku finished the call and sighed, "Never thought I'd be glad of seeing a giant fox in the village"

"Strange times call for strange bedfellows" Kakashi quipped as he and his group approached.

"You're here, good" The Nara head went straight to business. "Got a report from the Academy, Maiyuri-hime and the others turned the situation around." He would save his comments about the princess being in the thick of it for later. "The ANBU have just about cleared out the archives"

"What's our next move then?" Kurenai asked.

"The enemy forces have a barricade on the sector close the village gates, they intent to hold that as a forward base to bring more reinforces if they need to"

"This means more snakes…" Asuma said grimly.

"Yes" Shikaku did not sugar coat it. "Once our forces regroup, we will launch an assault to finally drive them out of the village"

"But what about the situation in the arena" Gai asked, "Hokage-sama and the others were still fighting when we left"

"I'm afraid the situation there hasn't gotten any better. To fight against three powerful Kages, two of them being Tobirama-sama and Hashirama-sama…" Such powerful people, their own founders, were now their opponents in this fight. "There is just nothing we can do at the moment but have faith in our comrades"

"Kushina-sama is still there right?" Kakashi asked.

"According to our reports, she's still fighting"

"Hmm" Kakashi let out a soft pensive sound. "Then all we have to do is wait. Kushina-sama…" He slowly smiled, "is too stubborn to lose"

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Kushina had sometimes dreamt about what it'd be to spar with her father, to fight against him and show him how much she had grown. That she lived up to her lineage with pride. In her mind he'd smile, and tell her how proud he was.

As her back slammed against the wall of the arena, Kushina bitterly thought this was far from what she wanted.

Her father moved like an automaton, yet still carried all the skill he possessed in life behind a completely blank face. No matter how many times they'd injure his body in any way, this one quickly regenerated in mere seconds. He felt no pain, he never grew tired, and it was impossible to physically incapacitate him. By all means and purposes, this fight should be unwinnable.

Of course, they were Uzumaki; they could easily device seals to stop the chakra-based form of the Uzukage to properly put an end to the fight.

If he ever gave them an opening that is...

Saito attacked with a barrage of quick sword slashes that were met with Daisuke's blades with outstanding precision a speed, creating a blurring image of metal that resulted in sparks flying off. Finally, Daisuke locked his blades against Saito's sword, stopping it in place, the swordsman's eyes widened in pain when a powerful kick sent him flying back.

Samenosuke ran behind him, his tattered jacket flapping with the movement as he jumped, taking out two shruiken from his pouch. He threw them, thin lines of chakra threads connecting them to his fingers as the throwing weapons moved around the form of the Uzukage in angles and curves, something they shouldn't have been able to do if now for a slight wind manipulation on the long haired Uzu's parts. Samenosuke landed in front of the old clan leader, pulling the chakra strings that now covered Daisuke's form, compressing his body tightly.

The Uzukage merely twirled one of his blades, and cut through the chakra threads as without much resistance on their part.

Samenosuke just stared blankly, "Yeah, don't know why I thought this would work..."

Before he even knew what hit him the roguish Uzumaki was sent flying via a wind jutsu. He was thankfully caught by Kushina's chakra chains and placed him on the ground beside her and Saito. "A thousand thank yous Hime!" He responded breathlessly and sweating.

Since the fight began they had _tried_ to put up some measure any offense against the late Uzukage. Which was proving quite difficult; "Uncle Daisuke is a badass..." Samenosuke spoke again back in fighting stance.

"Indeed." Saito grunted; "We have yet to find a single flaw to where we could seal and free him." The swordsman had always to aspire to match his uncle's skills of the blade. He was finding he had a long ways to go even now.

Kushina gritted her teeth; "How the hell do we get around his damn defense dattebane!?"

Just seeing her father being like this was painful, but being used by that damn Orochimaru made it ten times worse! A calming hand from her oldest cousin was placed on her shoulder; "I know patience is not your strong suite but we can't rush blindly. No matter how badly we want to save Uncle."

"By all means, regale us with a plan," Samenosuke quipped with dry sarcasm. "And can tell you right now Uncle will throw us around like rag dolls."

"Kushina" Saito ignored his cousin's witty comment. "Your chains are pretty much the only thing we can use against a seal master like uncle"

"So long as I have chakra, they'll hold" Kushina agreed, "Against physical targets, they're pretty strong chains but not unbreakable. It's against chakra based entities or spiritual beings where they excel at. And it so happens that dad here is a bit of both right now" There was still one problem though. "But he knows we'll be planning that, he's been dodging them" Ever since the fight began, her father had made it a priority to stay as far away from her as best as possible, even now he wasn't actively coming close to them because Samenosuke and Saito were right next to her.

"His body reacts to the danger because his mind still retains the knowledge of the chakra chains" Saito pointed out.

"And, how does that help us?"

"He's reacting. He isn't actively strategizing" He said, pointing at Daisuke's blank expression. "He can attack and take on the initiative, because the Edo Tensei's control drives him to utilize the skills he has available and employ them as needed based on his knowledge. But by taking out he's free will it's rendered him into what is basically a machine. He can't adapt"

Now Kushina was beginning to understand, "Yeah, I get what you mean, but... it's not like we can just use a technique he never saw before, he will still react to the danger"

"But his mind won't" Samenosuke softly said, reaching a realization. "Doesn't need to be something new, we can trick him with a simple illusion. Transform when we're out of sight for a moment"

"Exactly" Saito nodded quickly. "We'll distract him, Kushina, the moment he doesn't have his eyes on you transform into either of us and then get close, use your chains as fast as you can" His uncle would not find it strange that Kushina was no longer in sight, simply because he couldn't think at all in this state.

Yet before they could enact their plan, it seemed that the Uzukage had finally settled on attacking, but without the need to get close. He lifted both blades above his head and swung them down in a fierce arc. A dragon made out of flames came out roaring and flew directly at them.

Wonderment shone in Samenosuke's eyes; "Isn't that-?"

"YES!" Both Kushina and Saito interrupted in a panic as they pulled the dagger wielding Uzumaki and themselves out of the trajectory of the flames. Still not done the flaming dragon diverted from hitting the arena wall and rose upwards.

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Jiraiya dodged a punch from the Nidaime before retaliating with his own. "You're well trained." Tobirama complimented parrying the fist and going for a high kick. "Who taught you?"

"The old monkey fighting my ex-teammate." The Gama Sannin felt the wind the Senju's foot as it nearly hit his chin. "Sorry about all this."

The late Hokage simply shrugged it off as he fought his former student's student and his body. "Just find a way to seal us and end this mess!" However the battle on the roof grew to a standstill as a giant dragon of pure fire rose into the heavens; "By Amaterasu!"

"Holy shit!" Tayuya exclaimed beside Kidōmaru whom both were fighting ANBU.

The Mizukage and her Kiri Nin looked in awe at the sight while Orochimaru smirked; "Daisuke-dono's famous Fire Dragon jutsu. Truly a sight!"

They all soon noticed the large flaming beast turned and begun to nosedive back down into the arena. "Kushina!" Hiruzen yelled in fright.

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"Oh...SHIT!" Kushina paled as her father's most dangerous jutsu began to come down towards her, Saito, and Samenosuke.

They ran, pushing as much chakra through their legs as they could without overloading them. Her father continued guiding the dragon with a nothing but the movements of his arms; the elemental beast did not relent, and roared as though it was an actual living creature.

Kushina's shifted in a blur of handsigns _, 'Why do the hell does this damn technique have so many handsigns?!'_ At least with her water affinity and own experience with the element, she had managed to shorten the length of the sign chain quite a bit at least. This allowed her to swiftly conjure a stream of water that manifested from thin air around her, and formed into a dragon.

The water dragon jutsu was a B-rank technique, one of great destructive power, but even still her father's flame dragon techniques were of higher rank and energy, one could tell by how much the fire dragon outsized the watery one. Regardless, Kushina sent the dragon soaring, colliding with the fire element which resulted in a blast of hot steam.

Despite being weak against water, the fire did not extinguish itself completely, the dragon was stopped yes, and its elemental body was missing huge chunks. Yet it was slowly reforming. As if that wasn't enough, already another dragon was forming around Daisuke, quickly gaining size, the flames growing hotter by the second. The dragons soared through the air and descended upon them.

"Oh this is bullshit" Samenosuke swore. He quickly went through his pouches and retrieved several seal tags. "Kushina, chain barrier!"

"On it!" Chains spread through her back and spread around them in a small circle, the tips stopping in midair as she channel seals on the ends which quickly created a golden dome around them.

Samenosuke placed the tags on Kushina's chains; the seals took effect and quickly channeled their power through the barrier. " _Sealing Wind Style: Void_!"

Fire needs three things to burn. A heat source, something to fuel them, and oxygen. When you removed one of the equations then the flames were extinguished. That was exactly what Samenosuke's seals did, the outer layer of Kushina's barrier had been turned into an oxygen free zone, so the moment the flaming dragons collided with it there was no explosion akin to an inferno as they would have otherwise created, but rather their flaming serpentine bodies dissipated the deeper they dug into the golden dome.

Smoke blanketed the entire arena shrouding Kushina, Saito, and Samenosuke while the reanimated Uzukage remained still as a statue. Unable to see his targets he stayed motionless, unaffected by the smoke and dust. His eyes only shifted at the sight of a shadow moving at breakneck speed.

Emerging through a dense patch of smoke Saito rushed at his uncle with his katana at the ready. Daisuke reacted getting into a defensive stance, unaware of the golden gleam on his fellow Uzumaki's back. The moments their swords struck together golden chains shot out from 'his' back and wrapped securely around the Uzukage rendering him immobile, dropping his swords. 'Saito' smirked before being covered in a plume of smoke that soon revealed Kushina.

As the smoke was dissipating around the arena the real Saito and Samenosuke ran over quickly with the roguish Uzumaki going be Daisuke and pulling out the Kunai placed in him. A low grunt came from the late Uzumaki before he shook head; "What happened?"

Relief washed over his daughter upon seeing her father's sense returned. The feeling shared by the other two as Daisuke gazed at them in confusion and saw their wary states along with torn clothes. "Oh gods..."

"We're alright uncle," Samenosuke uttered breathlessly before falling onto his back in exhaustion. "None of us are dead!"

Daisuke quickly surveyed the arena; "Did I hurt the others?!"

"No!" Kushina spoke fast to alleviate her father's fears; "Sent Naruto and the others out to help around the village."

The Uzukage let out a relieved sigh, "And I couldn't even fight back against this technique..."

"Don't be too hard on yourself, this is a forbidden jutsu at its darkest" Kushina assured him. She never understood why the Nidaime made such an evil thing.

"I'll get a seal ready" Samenosuke quickly said, getting back up and unfolding a long scroll. "Saito, help me with this. Kushina, you hold him there" The swordsman quickly knelt in front of him and joined him in the preparations.

The Red Death didn't need to be told twice. Father and daughter merely stared at each other with sheepish smiles.

"This is not a standard family reunion" Daisuke quipped.

"When is anything standard with our clan?"

"Hah!" He barked a laugh, "At that you are right, child... Hmm" He hummed in thought, "Who is Naruto's father anyway?"

"Oh he's Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage!" Kushina beamed proudly.

"...A Namikaze, really?" He tilted his head with a confused frown.

Kushina huffed and crossed her arms, "What's wrong with it?"

"It's just... well, their clans are full of pretty boys, didn't know your tastes would be like that"

Kushina grumbled to herself, Minato did outgrew the girly looks with time and became quite handsome.

"But their women are pretty as a dream!" Samenosuke grinned mid-work, only to be bonked on the head by Saito so he could focus.

"But Hokage huh?" At that, Daisuke smiled. "My, you sure know how to pick them. Where is he anyway? I saw Hiruzen but..."

He saw her daughter's gaze become downcast and forlorn, making his heart wrench at seeing the pain in his little girl's eyes. Oh no...

"Minato, he... a lot of things happened. He's no longer with us..."

"Oh, my dear" Daisuke shook his head, compassion filled his every word as he stared apologetically at Kushina, "I am so sorry" His lips pursed, "This may be of little comfort, but... I understand what is to lose someone you love so dearly. When your mom died, I... I just didn't know what to do. How to move on. Work became a distraction. I just wished I could have spent more time with you"

"Dad-"

"Let me finish" Her father insisted. "In my grief, it took me a long time to understand that those we love never leave us, my little whirlpool"

Saito's hands twitched, only for a moment, but it did not go unnoticed by Samenosuke.

"They're with us, always" He smiled at her, a very fatherly gesture. "As part of our heart"

Kushina found it hard to fight back her tears as she gave a nod in understanding. In truth her heart was still a complete mess about everything. Not really having the time to properly mourn through it all.

She didn't know if she'd ever be able to accept it, every time she learnt to move on life continued to take something from her…

A sigh escaped Daisuke before glancing up seeing Genryu and Manda fly over them. "However this goes my little whirlpool." He gazed back to his daughter with steely gaze; "Make Orochimaru and the Kurokiba regret this transgression."

"With a smile on my face." Kushina responded with a feral smirk.

That was the intensity of a whirlpool right there.

Saito and Samenosuke stood up, holding a great scroll in their hand. Without another word their surrounded their clan leader's figure with it, as Kushina's chain slowly dissipated.

"I love you all" Daisuke softly said, giving his daughter one last look. "I'll tell your mother you love her"

The seals covered him completely, but he still heard his daughter's breaking voice.

"I love you too dad…"

The seal was complete, and his consciousness returned to the Pure Land, with the memory of his family carrying him all the way.

Kushina stood there for a moment, placing a hand on the scroll covered form of her father.

"Hime…" Samenosuke sadly spoke.

Her free hand tightened into a fist. "Come on" Her voice was low, held a killing intent so strong it promised death to the one responsible for all this. "We have to finish this"

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 _ **Next chapter will be coming! C-ya soon!**_


	33. The burning leaf act 2

_**Disclaimer**_ : We do not own Naruto

 _ **Co-Author and Beta**_ : Etheral-23

" **Okay, this… got a bit out of hand.**

 **Honestly, the words 'sounds simpler on paper' are appropriate. We didn't intend the chapter to become so long but… as we kept on we realized it would be, and we couldn't decide on splitting it. We'll try to be more mindful in the future, but we know sometimes it'll happen, some chapters will be very long.**

 **So… here it is, enjoyed an extra-long chapter."**

 **Chapter 33: The Burning Leaf Act II**

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The walls of the village grew ever more distant as the team tasked with tracking down the Suna Jinchuuriki leapt from tree to tree. Naruto felt as though his own mind was further away as well, so deep in thought that it was instinct and reflexes alone which carried him through the trek on the trees.

He just couldn't stop thinking about the coming battle, for there was no other possible resolution to this conflict. He and Gaara would fight, and Gaara would give it his all to kill him.

Naruto, as a shinobi of Konoha, knew it was his duty to kill him before the red haired boy could harm his home.

To a shinobi, duty was clear and unquestionable, simple in a way. There was certainty in following orders. Yet all it did was bring unbelievable turmoil to his mind and pain to his heart.

He was meant to fight Gaara. Gaara, who had it even worse than him. Who had been turned into a bloodthirsty killing machine by the actions of his village. Who was a twisted reflection of what he could have become had there been no one to show him kindness.

In Gaara he saw his deepest fears and pain. Yet this sorrow he felt was for what Gaara had endured, so he cursed at the unfairness of it all. Gaara did not deserve any of this, it had been imposed on him since birth.

Naruto knew Gaara would be unrelenting in his attempts to kill him... but the Uzumaki couldn't bring himself to kill Gaara. It just felt... wrong.

Right now he couldn't care less about what was expected of him as a ninja. Such mentality was what created Gaara in the first place.

 **"And just what do you expect, being merciful to an enemy that wants you dead will get you brat."** Kurama voiced his opinion upon listening to his host's thoughts. **"Those hairless simians in his sand castle of a village wanted a weapon. They succeeded, drove him to madness but got what they wanted. Isn't that the whole point of Jinchurriki, using my kind to create living weapons?"**

A growl came from the young whisker cheek blond; ' _We are not weapons! I don't give a damn about that! And play the victim here, even when you were out of mom and freed from that mask guy's Sharingan you still attacked Konoha!'_

 **"And how would you react after nearly over a century worth of forced confinement?! When** _ **Hashirama**_ **made his decision to seal me into his darling wife** _ **Mito**_ **, I became a pawn to his foolish attempts at peace! I saw my chance and I took it, I wouldn't let them seal me again!"** The level of spite and hate when the fox just mentioned those names was like nothing Naruto ever heard before.

It went without saying Kurama utterly despised the Shodai and his wife.

 _'Why are you bringing this up anyways?'_ Naruto calmed himself as he leapt through the trees with everyone else.

 **"Simple, mercy will only grant you a quick death. This illusion of kinship among Jinchurriki you and Matatabi's host perceive is clearly not shared with Shukaku's host. Kill him boy, break him and turn him to ash before you. The mercy will be letting that child fade into the afterlife and out of this miserable world"**

 **"It is such a relief to see you have not forgotten the lessons imparted to us"** He heard Matatabi's chimed in his mind, a quick glance to his left and he saw Yugito staring at him. This was no longer a private conversation. **"Do not listen to him, Naruto. While it should not be freely handed to anyone, mercy can be a powerful force. Such as forgiveness"** The flaming cat spoke pointedly to Kurama.

 **"Don't tell me you've actually forgiven these apes for imprisoning you?"** Kurama retorted with a snort.

 **"I was angry at first, indeed. But with nothing to do but contemplate for years your perception can broaden quite a bit. Too lost in our anger we had forgotten many valuable things, Kurama. I am thankful for my situation, had it not been so, I would have continued rampaging wantonly. Same as you"**

 **"Hmph!"** The fox did not deign to reply.

 **"Naruto, Yugito"** The cat addressed the two young ninja. **"There is no weakness in mercy. Empathy is very important, many problems in this world arise from the lack of one. However"** She gently expressed, **"you must understand, some people are far too gone. It is your choice to reach to Gaara, but whether your words will hold any sway... that depends entirely on him"**

As the two Jinchurriki pondered with their thoughts Sakura gazed over to Kiba and Karin; "Are you two picking up anything?"

Karin kept her gaze; "At least a hundred yards ahead of us."

"Explains the faint scent," The Inuzuka grumbled with a light bark from Akamaru; "How far were trying to go out here?"

Shino adjusted his shades; "They likely needed as much room as possible to unleash the Shukaku. From what I've read on the Bijuu, it is the most unpredictable. Better to be safe than sorry if awaken it somewhere remote." He paused taking notice of his fellow Konoha Genin gawking at him; "What?"

"That is the longest I've ever heard you freaking talk man." Kiba uttered in disbelief garnering a slow nod from the other Leaf Nin.

Having the sharpest perception among them, Haku picked up the subtle hint of annoyance from the reserved Aburame he had simple turned back ahead. Focusing herself she surveyed the surrounding around them. Despite the current situation this place felt quite peaceful and serene. Though she has not voiced her opinion out loud she has rather liked her stay in Konoha.

...A part of her could not help but wonder. Had her clan and family had lived here and not Kiri, would things have been different? For a moment she remembered the time she and her parents lived happily, and then with a literal violent shift, she saw her father raised the bloody axe in his hand towards her. Haku shook away the darker thoughts, that was all in the past now.

 _"I don't see a monster. I see a beautiful, intelligent, and very kind heart young woman. Who is loved and cared by the people around her. Never forget that."_ The memory of Naruto's mother words echo in her mind.

During the previous month she had told Naruto and Kushina what had happened to her as a child. The sheer look of horror from mother and son conveyed more than words ever could. She was rather surprised when had found herself wrapped in a warm maternal hug from the redheaded woman after. She didn't utter a word, just simply held her, it had reminded Haku of the times her mother hugged her.

Haku had not even realized she had started crying till the flood gates in her heart opened…

Telling them had brought the Hyoton user a world of good letting it all out. And had grown closer to Naruto and his mother because of it.

She shifted her gaze over to the said blond Uzumaki, "Hey! The smell of blood is getting stronger!" Kiba interrupted her thoughts as they all looked on ahead.

Sure enough the sight of the Suna siblings could be seen in the far off distance.

"Gaara!" The name escaped his mouth before Naruto even realized.

The shout was loud enough to that it reached the trio, who stopped the moment they heard it.

"Shit, they found us" Temari clicked her tongue. "Quickly, we can still-"

"No..." Gaara fiercely commanded in a seething voice. "We stay"

Kankuro grunted, "Gaara come on, we need to-"

"One more word from either of you" The redhead narrowed his gaze dangerously, "And I'll fill you up with sand until you explode"

Both siblings gulped in terror, knowing full well Gaara would see his promise through. It would be the height of folly to get between him as his target.

Said targets happened to be two blonde Jinchuuriki that were at the head of the group of young shinobi. The bloodlust emanating from their brother was sickening, and it was only from years of exposure that they could stand on their feet right now.

The group of Konoha and their allies stopped various meters on various tree branches before they could reach the trio.

They stared at each other in silence for a short moment. Sakura steeled herself in the face of Gaara's rampant killing intent and spoke. "You have committed an act of war upon the village of Konohagakure and violated the treaty between our villages. You are to be held accountable for your actions"

"So we can do this the easy way or the hard way" Sasuke followed up, his eyes morphing into his incomplete Sharingan. "Your choice"

The Suna Jinchuuriki spat in disgust. "You speak as though I care about the little games our villages play. No..." He bore his gaze into Naruto. "There is only way this will play out, with your blood in my hands"

"Gaara" The Uzumaki muttered, a pained look in his eyes. "We don't have to do this. You don't have to do this"

Those words seemed to ignite great hatred in those teal eyes. "And you speak as though we have a choice"

"'We do have a choice Sabaku no Gaara." Yugito spoke beside her fellow blond earning a glare from the younger teen.

The Suna Genin gazed into the Kumo's cat-like eyes; "...Why do you feel familiar?"

"Because I am a Jinchurriki too, like Naruto." Temari's and Kankuro's eyes went wide; "And you."

Silence followed for several minutes after those words were spoken. _'Are you freaking kidding me!? Those two are like Gaara!?'_ Kankuro's mind raced as he gazed at the two blonds and his brother. _'This mission went complete FUBAR!'_

Karin came close to her cousin's side; "Don't risk fighting us. Just surrender!"

Not paying attention to what was just said, Gaara kept his sights on Yugito; "Your eyes are like Uzumaki's. You pretend to be a human as well?"

"We are human damn it!" Naruto shot back, not controlling his temper.

Every single word that came out of his mouth only seemed to enrage the Suna Nin further. The concept of being declared human, him, whose own humanity had been discarded the moment of his birth, and had chosen to the live on the blood of others, was simply anathema to Gaara.

He had long ago decided his existence depended on carnage, such was the fate of beasts like them. But here he stood an, facing two people who were meant to be like him and yet... they weren't.

He had seen them smiling before, not the relishing grin he showed when the thought of spilling someone's blood excited him, but that damnable emotion that had been nothing but a lie to him all his life.

Joy.

They were like him and yet they could smile in joy. A joy that did not depend on death and destruction.

Like they actually believed themselves human.

Gaara hated them, he hated them so much because of it.

"The memory of your blood" The Jinchuuriki promised, "Shall be one I will treasure for the rest of my life"

There was no going back, the Konoha Nin and their allies realized. Gaara had made it clear, fighting was inevitable.

The two older Sand siblings cursed as they drew their respective weapons, neither liked their chances, they were outnumbered, even with Gaara. But their brother might as well be completely ignoring everything but the two other Jinchuuriki before him.

"You guys are outnumbered" Kiba smirked, Akamaru barking in agreement on his head. "Ain't any way out of this for you"

As if he had tempted fate, several blurs arrived through the great canopy of trees, multiple masked ninjas from Oto stood by the Sand Siblings' side. Temari and Kankuro looked surprised yet relieved, Gaara however just ignored them.

"We are here to assure your task is accomplished" One of the Sound ninja spoke. "Konoha shall burn"

Yugito gave Kiba a glare out of the corner of her eye, "You had to open your mouth"

A wince came from the bifocal wearing Uzumaki as she saw and felt the malicious glares of the Oto Nin directed towards her. "You should have never betrayed Orochimaru-sama, Karin." The leader among the Oto spoke with a chilling tone. "Our lord has 'plans' for you when we bring you back home."

Fear and terror stirred from within Karin as she trembled. She knew full well what was in store for her if they took her back. She had borne witness to the fates of those who had betrayed the snake sannin. Despair swelled till her cousin quickly stood in front of her with a fierce glare.

"Karin-chan is home, with her family! I'll turn Hebi-teme and you bastards into a crystal pin cushion if you try to touch her!" popping out from the collar in Naruto's shirt, Hien growled.

The Oto Nin only chuckled; "You're welcome to try. Orochimaru-sama has plans for you as well Uzumaki-san."

The atmosphere grew tense with both sides poised to battle. "Uzumaki and Nii are mine..." Gaara sneered with killer intent radiating off him.

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

Conflict still raged inside the Leaf village as Lyn and Kya took down both enemy Nin, and Kurokiba. Having joined them, Hui Zhong and Jian savored tearing through any wretched serpent that came in their direction. "You guys are having waaaaaay too much fun!" The buxom redhead declared observing the older brothers of Hien rip into a large viper snake.

"It is the duty of the Eastern Sea clan to battle with the vile serpents of Kurokiba wherever they surface!" The green dragon declared, spitting ice upon a snake's head. "For they are the sworn enemies of our clan and its comrades and so retribution shall be delivered to them for their atrocities!"

Jian crushed a snake's neck with his sharp clan, "And it's fucking fun!"

Lyn gave a look at the green and amber dragon, "Yeah, I'm gonna hang around this one" He pointed at the amber dragon. "He's more my style. You get the long winded one"

Kya merely closed her eyes and gave a disappointed shake. Before fiercely staring down at the incoming group of enemies coming for them, she spread her arms and legs, taking a stance. Chakra gathered around her arms as wind currents picked up, flowing with her as though it was an extension of her body. Her arms moved in a spinning motion, taking a step forward and thrusting her fists, launching a gale of stormy wind, knocking back everyone in its path.

A Suna ninja grunted as he slowly stood up, "Wind manipulation like that, no handsigns or anything. That's a wind affinity on par with the jōnin of our village..."

"You have a choice, shinobi of Suna" The Namikaze spoke; though her voice was soft it carried an edge to it. "Leave here now and live, or fight and face the consequences"

"Pfft, you want to offer mercy to an enemy shinobi?" Another ninja of the wind country spat.

"I am learned one of the Buddha. I do not take lives carelessly, but I will defend myself. As for you, ninjas of sound" Her sapphire eyes narrowed ever so slightly. "You are allies with the snake clan that hurt the Uzumaki immensely, no mercy shall be given, and this is your karma"

The killing intent radiating from her felt like the eye of the storm, making many of the Sound shinobi gulped in terror. The fear only increased when the dragons turned their serpentine eyes towards them. Without a second thought, they turned tail and fled, bereft of their allies the ninja of the Sand soon fled as well, falling back to regroup with their comrades.

"Awwww, look at you defending the honor of my clan" The wild maned Uzumaki woman cooed. "I love you too, sweetums~"

A small hint of pink colored her mocha cheeks. "By Vishnu, why do I put with you?" The question was directed to herself as much as the redhead.

"It's loooove~" The armored Uzu purred with a cat-like grin.

Hui Zhong floated down next to the Namikaze. "Shall we pursue them?"

"Don't bother" Kya shook her head, making her blonde messy locks sway. "There are still Leaf ninja that still need our help" The Namikaze knelt on the ground placing her hand upon it. She closed her eyes and concentrated. Chakra gathered in her palm, before suddenly spreading in a large burst, coursing through the earth in a circle. The signature of several lifeforms suddenly hit her as echolocation technique spread.

She stood up and looked north, "I can sense several people fighting up ahead"

"Well" Lyn grinned, rolling her neck.

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

Anko huffed beside Ibiki as they along with several Konoha Shinobi and ANBU stared up at the giant three headed snake that destroyed part of the village wall, with Suna and Oto beside them. "We can't even get close to those bastards!" The Kunoichi growled with frustration.

Ibiki only grunted with his arms crossed as he glared. Beside the two a Chunin turned his gaze to the snake mistress; "Can't you do something with the snakes Mitarashi?!"

"I'm not in a summoning contract with fucking Kurokiba, asshole!" the woman declared with sharp heated glare towards the man who shrunk under her gaze. "These guys have zero relations to the Forest Clan. And Boss Khan would have ripped you in half for the insult!"

The stoic bandana wearing head of the Konoha Torture and Interrogation division shifted his eyes over to Anko; "Can you summon Boss Khan?"

"Ibiki I've been ass deep fighting Suna and Oto since they began attacking. I'm too low on chakra to try it." As if the state of her attire, along with the blood, sweat, and dirt on her body needed to elaborate further on the matter. Anko had been on the front lines since this whole nonsense began.

As much as she tried to hide it, Ibiki knew she was exhausted.

One of the heads of the giant snake hissed in a sadistically playful voice. **"Little ones bleed"** The great snake trampled upon the fallen bodies of Konoha, Suna and Oto.

 **"Little ones scream"** The middle head added in delight at hearing the cries of the wounded.

The final head sing songed. **"Little ones burn"** And spat a horse sized fireball at a house, setting it ablaze in an instant.

 **"How shall we kill them? Will it be slow, or will it be fast? Shall we crush them, or eat them?"**

 **"Tear them apart"** The first head gleefully said. **"Limb from limb, watch the little ones squirm."**

Up on the village walls, they saw how the giant summon continued to pass through their defenses as though they weren't there at all. "Well that is creepy" Kotetsu muttered.

"Wish the wolf would come here to deal with it" His partner Izumo added, looking at the center of the village where the giant beasts were fighting still. "Gods I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'll even take the fox's help..."

"Well, aren't you grateful" A sarcastic voice spoke, and suddenly they were joined by naginata wielding Uzumaki and her Namikaze lover. "You prick..."

"He-ee-ey, Lyn-chan!" Anko grinned, "Glad you could join us"

Ibiki raised a brow, "You know each other?"

"Met her a couple of weeks ago at a bar" Anko grinned, "Drank her under the table"

Lyn jabbed an accusatory finger at her direction, "You only won cause I threw up!"

Kya rolled her eyes as Hui Zhong and Jian arrived after taking care of several Kurokiba. Now both dragons stare up at the enormous three-headed serpent; "We might need Kamiko-dono for that one." The green dragon uttered quietly.

The mocha Namikaze beauty turned her eyes over Ibiki; "What's the situation?"

"...At the moment it is a stalemate trying to fight that monstrosity along with Suna and Oto at its base." the scarred man grumped; "We can't find a solid opening to take them down."

Izumo groaned beside longtime partner; "If we could wipe out those Suna and Oto we could then try taking on big ugly there."

The amber scaled dragon stared at the three headed serpent; "Chief spoke about this guy didn't he?" He glanced to his brother who nodded.

"Indeed, he was beside Manda when attacking Uzushio. Akuhei I think is the name."

Lyn rolled her shoulders; "If he was at Uzushio then he's mine."

"You're not fighting that alone" Kya said, giving her lover a look.

The demon hunter snorted, "Watch me" And leapt down the great wall, directly to the three headed snake.

The Konoha shinobi were left gaping, "Did she just-?" Kotetsu muttered.

"Yes" Kya grunted in growing irritation, quickly jumping down as well to aid her.

The dragons and Konoha Nin shared a quick look. "Perhaps we should assist them"

"Tch" Anko clicked her tongue. "You think?!"

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

Akuhei's heads were humming to themselves when they felt the weight of a flying object land upon the middle one. Two sets of eyes from the heads at the sides turned to see a red headed armored human standing on the middle one, brazenly smiling down at it and holding a naginata in her hand.

 **"What's this?"** The left head spoke in mock curiosity.

 **"Hmm, the smell is familiar. Oh!"** The right head smiled, **"Uzumaki"**

The middle head chuckled, **"Long has it been since we tasted the blood of that clan"**

The demon hunter tapped the end of her naginata against the snake. "So, heard you were at Uzushio when it was destroyed. That correct?"

 **"We were more than present"**

 **"We ravaged it"**

 **"We feasted on it"**

 **"And we celebrated on the bodies of your fallen"**

The words were spoken with pure cruelty. Bringing the Uzumaki to silence as she slowly took a deep breath.

"Yeah..." She nodded. "I'm gonna enjoy this"

She slammed the butt of her naginata against the snake with such force it made the middle head tremble at the impact. The two other heads lunged with their maws open, but Lyn had jumped away, leaving them to bit the empty air where she used to be. She trailed down the long neck of the middle head even as this one twisted and coil, trying to impede her movement as the heads surrounded her.

 **"The little gnat dares!"** The right head hissed.

 **"Then she shall join her fallen clan!"**

Lyn jumped away from the snake's body, twirling in the air as the heads lunged for her once more. With the shaft of her weapon she slammed one away, using the impulse to dodge another. The naginata spun in her hands as she slashed at the snout of the last head, making a cut against its nose, making it coil back and hiss in pain.

She landed several buildings away from the great snake, around it she saw multiple ninja of both Oto and Suna forming up. Jumping over the buildings and staring down at her.

An Oto chuckled; "Think we let you attack Akuhei-dono, Uzumaki?"

Lyn only gave the man a bored look while ignoring the leers from several enemies. "You gonna talk or fight, I am in no mood to talk with a bunch of nameless minions."

"She's a feisty one," An Oto muttered not taking his eyes off the buxom woman's body. His lack of awareness proved fatal as a sword pierced his chest from behind him. His comrades gasped at the sight of a beautiful mocha skinned woman with a chilling glare at the Oto.

She said nothing as she took out his blade from the man and took off his head in a quick spin off the balls of her heels. Slowly her eyes glared towards the rest with Anko and the others joining in.

Jian wrapped his body tightly against a Suna Nin as he bit into the man's throat. Hui Zhong aiding Anko in taking out several foes. "You know I had this handled right?" Lyn droned towards her lover.

The Namikaze only glared back; "Shut up, you're not fighting alone." By her icy tone she was done speaking on the matter for which Lyn kept her mouth shut.

 **"Your accursed bloodline shall end today, child of the whirlpool!"** Akuhei's middle head shouted, **"And finally we will-!"**

Lyn dashed forward in a burst of speed, much to the surprise of both enemies and allies. Kya swore under her breath and soon joined her in the charge.

"Guess someone doesn't believe in monologues!" Anko remarked as she and her fellow Leaf ninja began their attack.

Oto and Suna Nin charged forth, meeting in the middle of the street, kunai and shuriken meeting in clashes of steel. The snake mistress launched multiple serpents out of her arm and snared an Oto Nin, commanding the serpents to throw him away after sufficiently biting his jugular. As they retreated back into her coat she jumped over a charging Suna Nin, her palms pushing herself off his back and rolling her body into a ball in midair. She dashed in between multiple enemy ninja, spinning rapidly, before delivering a devastating drop kick against a Suna Nin's face.

Ibiki was someone intimately familiar with pain; he had endured tortures which had left horrific scars, punishments that would have broken lesser men. In the midst of dodging and parrying the blows of his opponents, a few managed to land, their numbers allowed them to continue attacking him relentlessly. But those blows meant little to him; he had faced worse, far worse.

In a way he'd come to crave it, the pain. He'd come to understand it as the only way people from every nation could communicate sincerely, instead of hiding behind thinly veiled threats and empty promises. He understood the language of pain, so he would share with these people just what his feelings on them attacking his and killing his comrades were.

He dropped a smoke bomb filled, the loud burst of noise followed by the dense cloud blinded his enemy's movements and he slipped away. The more experienced Suna Nin managed to blow away the smoke even as they coughed, but that did little to remove the dense darkness that had been forming around them, in fact it only grew worse.

"What the-?!"

Too late did they realize the darkness was no longer due to the smoke, but rather because of two large solid constructs the size of a building closing in on them, trapping them as they joined. The giant iron maneki neko was wrapped in chains, and slowly sunk into the ground. Ibiki smirked; he had plenty of people to interrogate for later.

The bloodthirsty hiss of the giant snake heralded a fierce attack, the left head smashing directly against the ground, cracking it and making huge chunks of rock sprout, all in an effort to crush the armored redhead. Lyn had jumped right before the head impacted, and so she ran up its huge snake, twirling her naginata along the way, slashing and cutting at the scales, dealing as much damage as her quick strikes could allow.

The middle head opened its maw to spit pure concentrated poison at her, yet a powerful gust of wind blew it away before it could reach her. Down on the ground Kya stood there with her arms outstretched, prepared to deliver another wind gale.

Then, multiple figures jumped right over her.

"Die!"

Kya did not move; she did not even bat an eye. She merely waited as the shinobi descended upon her, they their weapons failed to meet their mark, for they were soon blown away by the blindly fast swipes of two draconic tails, one green and one amber.

"Your mate does not know how to work with others, Namikaze-san" Hui Zhong commented, staring down at more Oto Nin that gathered around them

"I know" Ironically, she was the same way. But even she could cooperate if the situation called for it.

"Bah! This is a matter of vendetta, lady Lyn is owed this. For the honor of her clan" Jian argued.

She had lived through the nightmare of witnessing her clan butchered by two shinobi villages and the Kurokiba. The memory of that night was forever scarred into her memory and haunted her in occasional nightmares.

But back then she was a defenseless child who could only runaway. Now she was a fully trained and skilled warrior who stood ready to slay one of those responsible for taking away her clan. And she would make Akuhei know fear as he died!

The middle head of the giant serpent hissed; **"Burn like your clan!"** It unleashed a torrent of pure fire with ill intent towards the buxom redhead who stood her ground and was soon engulfed.

"Is she nuts!?" The eternal Chunin chorused in terror. "Why is she just standing there!?" Kotetsu roared in fear.

Kya however was unbothered unlike the rest before the all bore to a sight none would ever forget. Instead of being incarcerated to flames soon began to shift and move while Lyn went through several katas. The fire flowed around her like a sprite in the most beautiful display none from Konoha had ever seen before.

 **"IMPOSSIBLE!"** All three heads of Akuhei's bellowed in disbelief. Their shock soon became a roar of pain as Lyn sent the fire right back at the giant serpent in a huge blast.

"How did she do that?!" Anko's jaw nearly hit the ground.

Jian whistled at Kya's and his brother's side; "Now that is near perfect fire element control." The amber dragon being quite impressed.

Ibiki observed the Uzumaki woman with interest. To reach such a skill of chakra elemental control took insanely harsh training and skill. She might act like a clown, but her combat prowess made up for that behavior.

With great speed and precision, she lunched a flaming chakra slash from her naginata. It exploded upon impact with the middle head, making it turn back. The right head lunged for her, as the left head whose neck she was standing on shook violently, making her lose her footing.

Lyn was forced to jump high in the air, the muscles in her legs burning from the all the chakra she put into that jump. Looking down she saw all three heads hissing at her before reaching towards her once again. Long snakes coiling and twirling around one another as they sought to devour her whole.

She gripped her naginata tightly, delivering a strong backhanded attack with the shaft to swat away at one of the heads, the middle one she supposed, with how much the necks moved it was hard to tell. Another head came from behind her, so she thrust her palm forward and propelled herself with a blast of fire, dodging it before slashing away at one of its eyes. Akuhei's head roared in pain as it coiled away.

She continued falling; the roaring sound of the final head got her attention, blue eyes widened as her wild mane flapped widely with the wind. Bellow her, Akuhei's maw open wide, too fast and too close for her to narrow.

The sides of the jaw surrounded her completely, and bit down hard.

"Lyn!" Down below, Kya cried out in concern. Gone was her usual stoic disposition, now open fear was as clear as day.

"Shit!" Anko growled.

It was then that they saw the snake's maw had not closed completely, for both ends of Lyn's naginata kept it from doing so. The bladed edge did not pierce through the flesh, strangely. Lyn absently thought it was due to the snake fortifying the inner parts of its maw with chakra to the point it was as hard as steel. The stench of the thing's breath was horrible, she thought as she gazed down at its throat, a dark abyss where she would be consumed if she fell.

 **"The little pest will learn her place!"** The head with its eye slashed out hissed.

 **"Insider our belly!"**

The head which had her trapped roared out an unintelligible word, which she assumed it was _**'Die!'**_

Lyn did not let her naginata do all the work, she pushed legs and hands against the top and bottom of the mouth, pushing with as much strength as her muscles would allow. "I am Lyn Uzumaki..." She grunted through exertions. "Daughter of Mei-Lin and Nadashi Uzumaki" Her hands began to burn, a familiar and very dear feeling to her. "Granddaughter of Tsukiko Uzumaki!"

Flames erupted from her hands, making Akuhei's eyes widen as its maw was beginning to be filled with fire.

"And through my veins flows the blood of dragons!"

It was like the blast of a furnace had suddenly gone up inside the snake's maw, making a torrent of flame trail upwards. The snake cried out in agony as it let go, leaving a very fiery Uzumaki woman literally encased in flames in midair, as though the highly heated air was slowing down her fall.

The other two heads roared in pure anger and heat, opening their mouths wide as pure raw chakra gathered inside, forming menacing spheres of power reminiscent of another certain dreaded technique.

Lyn readied herself for the incoming onslaught, already preparing the strongest barrier she got.

When suddenly blue and brown blurs dashed towards the heads. A kick carrying the strength of a hurricane let out a powerful maelstrom of pure wind, knocking it away. While a large mass of snakes emerged and coiled themselves around the other head's neck, pulling tightly.

"And she's not allowed to die today" Kya said as she landed upon the snake's body as Anko knelt by a rooftop, pulling the other head with all the strength her snakes could muster. "Or else she'll never hear the end of it from me"

Despite the pain and burns Akuhei regained his sense shaking free from the 'inferior' snakes from the Forest Clan. Anko gasped as her serpents recoiled back to her, the enraged heads of the giant serpent turned to Kya only glared back.

 **"Namikaze whore!"** The middle head spat in fury.

 **"You shall scream as you burn!"** The left head spoke in a wheezing hiss.

The right was too injured to speak while Kya cocked her head unafraid by the declaration. "That will not be my end." She retorted calmly before leaping away as three enormous blades made of pure fire descended above Akuhei. The giant snake had made a fatal mistake; they took their eyes off the buxom Uzumaki who had left in the air with extra help from Hien's brothers.

Concentrating her fire chakra at through her weapon, fire formed on the naginata blade. The flames grew and split on both left and right, taking shape of the blade. Making a throwing motion with her hand, the three blades of fire grew in size as they sailed downward. Akuhei felt pain for only a second as the blade pierced through serpent's three skulls killing him instantly and setting him ablaze.

Lyn landed on the ground next to Hui Zhong and Jian as Kya soon joined them. The Namikaze said nothing as she watched her lover stare at the burning serpent with satisfaction and melancholy. "For you mom and dad." Lyn uttered in a whisper. The past played in her mind as she had seen her parents fighting in the village and being violently devoured by the three headed bastard that was currently burning.

She continued watching as the pyre that was the snake's corpse. The Namikaze softly gazed at her lover's face, this one illuminated by the flame, the melancholy was as clear as day.

"Are you okay?" Kya asked in a gentle voice.

"I don't even know if this bastard killed my parents in the battle" She said, shrugging slightly. "For all I know, maybe it was Kumo or Iwa, or some other snake or something. But... this guy here, he still played a part in destroying my home. I'll take comfort in knowing I avenged all those he killed"

Revenge in the pursuit of justice was a worthy call. Few were those who did not give in to anger and hate, and let their quest for vengeance changes them. Kya was glad that Lyn was one of those people, every blow struck against the snakes was guided by more than just anger, but out of honor for the family she lost, and love for those she still had to protect. Those were the signs of someone who had moved on.

Kya wished she could be that strong.

Her hand twitched before slowly reaching out to Lyn's and interlocking their fingers, making her know she was there, comforting her.

"I love you"

The words that came from Lyn were not her usual teasing; they were pure and came from the heart.

It almost made Kya recoil back from instinct, her old defense mechanisms acting up. "I..."

"It's okay" Lyn said to her with a soft smile and a tender gaze. "I know, that's all that matters"

Once again, Kya cursed her own lack of strength.

"Sooooo" Anko's tone managed to completely ruin the mood. "Bet that was cathartic"

* * *

 **XxX ~ Team 7 and Team 8 ~ XxX**

* * *

A fierce battle raged within deep with the forest surrounding Konoha with Team 7 and 8 with company fought Gaara, his siblings, and Oto shinobi. Naruto and Yugito went straight for their fellow Jinchurriki who angrily pursue them, leading away from the others. But the odds were still not in the favor of the Konoha/Kiri crew via the numbers thanks to the Otogakure.

But none were deterred as they fought against foes.

Hinata and Karin kept close with the Oto leader and other sound shinobi coming for them. Temari was keeping things difficult for Haku alongside Sakura. Kiba and Shino were not having fun facing the puppet user Kankuro.

Sasuke meanwhile was dealing several Oto. The Uchiha ducked and weaved from several vicious kicks and kunai strikes. His Sharingan giving him the leverage he needed to avoid the deadly blows. Though he wished this idiots looked up a bit higher, all he needed was a second and put them in a genjutsu to finish them off. Annoyingly they were showing to be rather intelligent than normal fodder keeping their gazes on his feet.

"Orochimaru-sama gave us orders to take you if you refused to join us Uchiha." An Oto spoke in the shadows.

At that Sasuke scoffed "Your sells pitch sucks. And I'm not going anywhere with you losers or your boss." He quickly blocked a hard roundhouse with a grunt.

"Hoped you would say that. Our master said as long we don't kill you, it's fine." The Oto responded again as he dashed out throwing several Kunai. "Let's see just how good you are Uchiha!"

Ugh, so much talking in fights. Why couldn't people kill each other quietly? Whatever. This was barely worth his pay grade; he needed to thin the heard so he could assist the moron and the cat girl. With that in mind, Sasuke easily jumped to another tree, deftly avoiding several projectiles sent his way, biting his thumb as he did so.

He slammed his hand upon the large branch. " _Kuchiyose_!"

A cloud of smoke burst into existence, making the Oto Nin ready themselves in preparation, and what followed was the roar of two large felines. With blurring speed two figures shot out from the smoke, leaving a trail on their path.

An Oto-nin screamed when suddenly bone crushing jaws found his throat, upon which his pained shouts became agonizing gurgles. A large orange and black tripped tiger bit down, tearing sinew and muscle, spraying blood everywhere.

A second tiger jumped from branch to branch, easily avoiding the multiple shuriken sent his way. It roared as it leapt down, sharp claws tearing into the chest of the nearest Sound Ninja, quickly slashing deeply, leaving a deep wound and a paralyzed enemy, before jumping to the next prey.

Sasuke looked at his summons at work satisfied, giving out a small nod of gratitude in their direction.

"Wooow! Look at them!" A hyper excitable voice sent shivers down his spine. "They're like scared mice!"

He looked down a familiar white Bengal tiger by his feet. "What. Are you doing? Here? I specifically did NOT summon you"

"Big meanie! You did summon me! Big brothers Abhay and Ajeet just tagged along with me!" Ty Lee pouted cutely.

Sasuke only face palmed as the two large tigers deadpanned as they leap over; "Ty Lee... I think the current situation is beyond you at the present moment." One of the tigers murmured dryly.

 _Moew_ "But I can fight too! I sharpened my claws and everything Abhay-nii!"

"Is she always like this?" Sasuke droned over to the amur tiger Ajeet who nodded dryly; "Wonderful..."

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

Genryu and Manda did not relent on one another as they kept to the skies above Konoha. Claw and bite marks littered their respected faces and necks. **"I should have killed you centuries ago!"** The silver scaled dragon snarled before setting loose a stream of pure fire.

Manda finally uncoiled himself from the dragon, falling to the ground with a great crash that sent tremors through the village. His body zigzagged through streets and fallen buildings, narrowly avoiding the hungry flames. **"The sentiment's mutual! How long have we danced like this, how many times did we say the last fight would be our last?!"**

Genryu breathed fire in a concentrated blast in a single stream down at the village, though a full powered blast would no doubt hit the snake, it would also have the unwanted consequence of burning down the village, so he had to carefully stop whenever Manda was getting to close to areas that had not been affected by the fight. The snake knew this and took it to his advantage, forcing the dragon to stop in his assault.

 **"Ohh what's wrong?"** The serpent cooed mockingly. **"Afraid to harm your little darling humans?"**

Genryu growled in anger, floating down to stare at the snake face to face. **"I do not need my flames to end you, just my fangs and claws"**

 **"The dragon clan used to command so much authority. Now? You're all just shadows of what you were"** Manda's snake tongue flickered in the air in amusement. **"I have to wonder, is it because your enforcer is no longer around?"**

 **"You dare!"** The dragon chief snarled in outrage. **"To claim we bullied our way through the clans, such hypocrisy!"**

 **"Ohoho, I seem to have struck a nerve"** Manda grinned with malicious glee, **"Face it, Genryu, the dragon clan can barely keep the clans from fighting amongst themselves, and you cannot approach the humans without them wanting to hunt you down for power. Without that half-breed whore Tsukiko, you have lost the last shreds of your strength"**

Those words snapped something deep within the silver scaled dragon as he unleashed an earth shattering roar. Everyone within the village paused as they covered their ears, even Yuri and Genjou winced.

 **"DO NOT SPEAK MY SISTER'S NAME WITH YOUR FILTHY MOUTH!"** Genryu thundered with such primal wrath the skies above quivered in fear.

It had been both heartbreaking when Tsukiko had suddenly vanished during a mission decade ago. An in Genryu's mind that was the moment when everything went wrong. The destruction of Uzushio, and the near genocide of the Uzumaki Clan. The divide and animosity that grew throughout the animal clans against one another. And darker things now possibly were moving once again within the shadows just out of sight.

The balance of the scale tipped when his sister had disappeared. But Genryu could feel it; he knew his sister was not dead! And the utter gal of this cur insulting her name before him!? That would not stand!

Manda only chuckled in amusement at the sight of the enraged dragon chief.

The silver scaled dragon soared straight for the snake chief, blinded by rage Genryu had only bloodlust in his mind, an unquenchable desire to sink his teeth into the Manda's neck and taste his blood. He would have vengeance, for all the people the Kurokiba had killed, for his kin, for Uzushio.

And for daring to insult his sister.

That was exactly what Manda wanted.

The snake opened his maw and let loose a stream of poisonous goo, the attack was too fast for the dragon to dodge. Genryu's eyes widened before shutting tightly, feeling them burn as though they were on fire. He collapsed on the ground, blind and in pain as the substance hardened over his scaly eyelids.

Then, his entire body seized in agony as Manda coiled around him once more, tightening the deadly grip with each passing second. The dragon could do naught but gasp.

 **"Yes..."** Manda hissed in sadistic pleasure. **"Let your last breath escape your lips"** His body coiled even tighter, making the dragon let loose a roar of pure pain. **"I want to see you die!"**

 **"NOT TODAY!"** Another voice bellowed as Manda unbound himself from Genryu to avoid the thrust of enormous tanto.

Falling to the ground the dragon chief heaved, sucking as much air as he could. His eyes glance to his side at the sight of someone he had not seen in ages. And the first thought that came to his mind that he expressed; **"And where the hell the have you been Bunta!?"**

Sneering, the chief of the toads Gamabunta scoffed. Like the other chief animals roaming the village, Bunta was massive in size with dull rusty red skin, red markings around his mouth and eyes, a large scar over his left eye. Hanging out his mouth was his usual Kiseru pipe; lastly he wore a blue happi vest with the word 'Ebi' on the back.

Manda hissed angrily at the sight of another of his longtime rivals. Bunta however ignored him by glaring down at the fallen Dragon chief; " **Jiraiya summoned me the moment the fighting started. I've been chopping up so many of that idiot's brood at the far end of the village I can make a dozen wallets!"** he pointed his bloodied tanto towards the Kurokiba chief who snarled. **"And where the hell have I been?! Where have you been you silver scaled blowhard!? Brooding!?"**

A deep growl came from the dragon before coughing violently; the great silver dragon gave the toad chief a scathing glare **. "I've been keeping our oaths. You have no idea how endless the task of protecting Gogyou-koku truly is"**

 **"I'll grant you that the humans do make it difficult to actually care for them when they're constantly killing each other for dumb reasons"** The great toad conceded. Helping the dragon 'stand', as it were, by pulling him up from one of his claws. **"People like him certainly don't help"** He thrust his chin at Manda, who coiled back, ready to spring into action of the two decided to attack him.

 **"Your forces have met their match here, Manda"** The dragon chief exclaimed, watching how Yuri and Genjou battled across many snakes across the village. Giant Akimichi supported by well-coordinated shinobi formations took on the great beasts with efficiency. **"The tide already is turning, and soon you shall face justice for your crimes"**

The snake hated to admit it, but the dragon's words held some truth in them. He couldn't see Akuhei anymore, one of their heaviest hitters, and he had been taken out... **"My crimes?"** The snake snapped back in indignation. " **How about the humans' crimes? You pathetic hairless-ape-apologizer. Even knowing full how much they took from the animal clans. The so called 'sages' have failed, and now we must-"**

 **"Oh gods are you serious?"** Gamabunta rubbed his eyes, **"You know, for someone who hates humans so much. You sure came fast to Orochimaru's aid"**

Manda growled in anger, **"Our partnership is... mutually beneficial. For now at least"**

 **"Whatever helps you sleep at night"** He twirled the giant blade in his hands before taking a stance, next to him, Genryu was gathering flames on his maw once more.

The snake chief let out a deafening roar, and to his side arrived two more giant snakes. **"Manda-sama, we are here to serve"** They replied with great obedience.

 **"Slay them!"** Their lord commanded, and together they charged at the great dragon and toad.

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

Lava had melted sections of the building that had started from the roof. The Mizukage huffed beside some of her Kiri Shinobi and Konoha ANBU. The legendary skills of the Shodai were to proving to more than stories. Annoyingly so for the buxom auburn haired woman as she had yet to land a blow on him!

Hashirama on the other hand had been decimating anyone that had gotten close to him. If not his flawless taijutsu, it was his renowned Mokuton was tearing everyone to shreds. Mei truly thanked the gods for giving her Yōton and Futton; it was the only thing that kept those blasted tree limbs at bay.

If only just...

The Shodai held his hands together creating a seal; "I am sorry for this!" Once more, sharp spear-like wooden tendrils shot forward. As must as Hashirama fought against the control Orochimaru had over his reanimated body it was useless. His heart ached every time he slain a young Shinobi that came for him. Even more so they were trying to save him and set him free.

Why did his brother create such a jutsu like this?!

Valiantly, Mei once more shot several balls of lava from her mouth to melt the wooden threats. But she could feel herself getting weaker and losing chakra. "Feels like we can't get anywhere!" A male ANBU in a raccoon mask bemoaned in irritation.

"Because we can't." A veteran Kiri Jounin retorted; "This is becoming a battle of attrition."

"How about instead of talking you idiots help me!" Mei snapped.

Hashirama's eyes widened at the invasive sensation of the seal. He knew what he was about do, so he warned the others. "Get some distance quickly!" He shouted as his hands went through several signs.

It was too late, his technique already took effect. Behind him a large towering tree emerged, the top blooming in a giant flower that was growing by the second.

"Crap!" He hissed, trying his damnedest to stop revert this technique, yet his body wouldn't obey.

Mei's eyes widened in alarm. "What is that?!"

"My Flowering Trees technique!" The First Hokage shouted alarm. From the tree's trunk, more and more trees began to spread, expanding in a circle, slowly trying to cover the roof. "It releases powerful pollen than render people unconscious! Quickly, burn it down before it spreads throughout the entire area!"

The Mizukage did not need to be told twice, she channeled a highly pressurized water stream through her mouth and spit it at blinding velocities directly at the main trunk. At its current intensity, she could use it to cut a hill top clean off.

But Hashirama's body reacted all the same, calling forth a great dome of trees in front of his Flowering Trees. Their thickness and resilience was such that they could withstand the highest end of A rank techniques. The water stream barely cut a few feet before it was stopped flat, splashing harmlessly through the sides.

"Damn it!" Hashirama swore, seeing the pollen already starting to spread in the wind...

Suddenly there was a blur of movement, a red haired man in kimono robes jumping over the three.

His waist he held a sword, its release was so fast it was barely a blur of movement that only the most experienced of shinobi could perceive.

The air around his tree... distorted, it looked like, gaining a blue hue in a perfect spherical form. Hashirama realized it was actually a type of a space-time distortion.

Suddenly, inside the sphere there was a sword slash, long enough to go from end to end of the sphere. Then another, and another, and another.

The count was lost when the slashes numbered in the dozens.

The distortion was over, and the tree fell apart in many small pieces, as though having been struck from multiple angles at one.

"Yeah!" Hashirama cheered the Mizukage and her allies sighed in relief.

The redhead landed next to the auburn haired woman. The first thing she noticed was how he carried himself, with a disposition of such steely resolve and calm, the type one saw in people who dedicated their entire lives to mastering the sword.

"Mei Terumi-dono, I presume" He spoke, his voice strong. "Saito Uzumaki, a pleasure to meet you"

"The pleasure is mine" She replied with a small bow of her head. "You did save a lot of people there"

"'Save' is subjective" He said, ever keeping a tight hold on his sword's handle. "I merely stopped that technique, but I doubt I alone can be of much use to you here against someone like Shodai"

"Hey!" The Shodai shouted towards the swordsman, "You're an Uzumaki right? Excellent! I need you to seal me right now!"

"I'm afraid I lack the skills to do it myself" He answered, raising his voice a touch. "But the one who can is rather... occupied right now with your brother"

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

This had to be the first time Jiraiya every felt his age getting to him as he battled the Nidaime with several ANBU. Half of him wondered if this was due to the Edo-Tensei; or Tobirama's incredible prowess? Either way he felt utterly exhausted, it had been a long while since he had been in a fight this long.

The ANBU around him weren't doing so hot either as most was injured or dead. The anguish in the Nidaime's eyes did not go unnoticed by the Sannin. "I should never made this damnable jutsu!" The Senju snarled as he deftly parried a kunai strike from a lunging ANBU. The mask wearing woman did not see the knee quick enough as it struck her stomach and sent her flying off the roof. "You have to end this!"

"Easier said than done!" Jiraiya went on the attack again going through several hand seals and breathed out a stream of fire. This was countered, predictably by one of Tobirama's water jutsu. "You're kicking our asses."

"Tag in!" Jiraiya blinked as he felt a hand tap his shoulder and a red blur running past him. Before could even mutter a word Kushina was now engaging the reanimated Senju.

The Uzumaki launched an unrelenting barrage of kicks and punches, to which the Nidaime parried with great precision. His leg shot up in a kick, to which Kushina deflected with her arm. She hissed under the heavy blow that sent tremors through her bones. Quickly she ducked underneath a left hook, only to deliver a powerful uppercut to the Senju's chin.

She pulled out a pair of kunai and stabbed his feet before quickly unsheathing her sword and burying it through his spine. Taking advantage of the window she created, her chains began to come out from her back.

But the Nidaime merely grabbed her neck and head-butted her, hitting her forehead protector with his own faceguard. Kushina staggered, disoriented by the strike. Yet she still managed to jump back various feet away for protection until she regained her footing.

"I feel no pain; don't bother wasting time with attacks that won't incapacitate me!" His feet soon broke free of from the kunai, and pulled the sword out of his gut. "Watch out!" He threw it right at Kushina at tremendous speed.

Her eyes widened as her own blade came flying at her, only to be stopped by multiple thin strings of chakra that wrapped themselves around the handle.

"Got it!" Samenosuke called out as he walked up to his kin, pulling the sword safely towards him and handing it to Kushina. "You're welcome"

Jiraiya cleared the distance between them in a single bound and stood next to them. "Tag in?" He offered with a smirk.

"I was handling him on my own just fine..."

"No you weren't" Tobirama deadpanned from his position. And she stuck her tongue at him in response, very mature. "Young lady, can you use chakra chains?"

Kushina nodded; "What I was going to use before you wrung my bell."

"Then I suggest you two give her the opening she needs for her chains!" His body soon moved as he held up a single seal; "And quickly!" Water particles gathered around the Senju. Clumping together they soon formed an enormous serpentine body of a dragon. "MOVE!"

The trio did as ordered as the water dragon roared and came at them at blinding speeds. More of the roof was soon obliterated as the watery beast smashed into it. However before the trio could relax more dragons were formed, smaller in size but still deadly as they flew towards their targets.

"Oh shit!" Both Uzumaki's chorused as they ran around along with the Gama Sannin trying to avoid the water projectiles. "Why can't my water affinity be that good?" Kushina pouted.

"Can we focus on surviving!?" Jiraiya bellowed forming a rasengan in his hand; "Let's see how this works!" Quickly he spun on his heels as he slammed his late student's prime jutsu at the Nidaime's.

The result was as expected; the sphere of chakra expanded the more energy he poured in it. Tobirama tried to wrestle Jiraiya's hand away, but the toad sage let out a war cry as he blasted the technique off, taking the Nidaime with it. His body spiraled along with the great mass of chakra.

"Attack him before he reco-!" Jiraiya's words died in his mouth as the Nidaime was suddenly standing right in front of him, his terrified expression matching the Senju's concerned face as his hand shrouded itself into a mass of water which soon began to take a sharp edge.

Tobirama's hand pierced right through Jiraiya, only for his body to puff into smoke, a log stuck around his arm now instead.

Jiraiya rejoined the others just in time to see Kushina's chain tear multiple water dragons apart, their chakra disrupted and vanishing in the air.

The Gama Sannin huffed; "So do we have a plan B kids?"

"I thought we we're on plan W/F." Samenosuke uttered with his hands on his knees hunched forward.

"W/F?"

"We're fucked..."

A deadpan came from both Jiraiya and Kushina as they glanced at the Uzu man. Then, Tobirama was suddenly in front of them, looking as the Rasengan had done nothing to him.

"Oh this jutsu is just bullshit..." Groaned the Toad Sage at the sheer ridiculousness of the reanimation technique.

"Get ready!" The Second Hokage warned, "Because I'm about to destroy this entire building!" He leapt into the air, assisted by a solid stream of water to reach an even greater height.

"H-He's not serious is he?" Samenosuke stammered, a nervous drop of sweat falling down his cheek.

Water began to gather en masse on Tobirama's arm, expending behind him into a giant torrent of deadly liquid, spinning at incredibly high velocity, the water forming on his hand becoming a miniature whirlpool akin to a drill.

From his sensei's tales, Jiraiya immediately recognized that technique. "He's serious"

Kushina's eyes hardened, her mind quickly racing through the possibilities to device a defense. The moment she came up with one, she turned to her companions. "Follow my lead" Her chains spread through her back and formed a barrier around them. "I'll need you to keep the seal strong"

The two men shared a quick gaze before nodding in reply. They each went to a different side of the barrier and placed their hands upon the golden surface, adding their own chakra and knowledge to reinforce it as much as they could.

Tobirama could not hold himself any longer. He couldn't even stop his voice from announcing the technique, " _Water Style: Hardened Water Drill_!" And thrust his arm forward, launching a torrent of spiraling water that came down on them like a giant drill.

"Keep it steady!" Kushina shouted, forcing her barrier to actually change shape. Her chains moving in a twirling motion towards the top. The golden force field morphed, twisted and bending like a malleable mass. Her barriers were strong enough to stop even the most devastating techniques, but they had little offensive use.

That is not to say barriers usually had offensive use, but Kushina always liked to think outside the box. On a fixed position protecting her and the others, they would resist the Second's technique, but she doubted the rest of the building and the people around them would. So she forced her barrier to attack as a counter attack to his water drill.

This was not without risks, making the barrier shift form on the sly like that reduced its resistance greatly, if Jiraiya and Samenosuke were not helping her right now, she had no doubt it would crumble under the Nidaime's technique.

As it was, the giant golden drill impacted against the water drill. Water splashed everywhere like a violent rain, giving ground to her chains as they made their way forward. Kushina grit her teeth, the clash of their attacks putting a strain on her body. At her sides, Jiraiya and Samenosuke grunted with effort as they poured their all into making the barrier resist.

Tobirama watched with widening eyes as the golden attack cleaved through his technique, a small smile gracing his slips as he saw the light coming closer and closer to him.

The force field shrouded chains tore through his arm, tearing it to pieces.

Kushina let out a gasp, dropping the barrier and forcing her chains to quickly snare the Nidaime.

Samenosuke and Jiraiya watched with weary eyes as they slowly lowered him until he was right in front of them, it didn't look like he couldn't do anything. The special properties of the Uzumaki chains were already working their magic.

"Well, done. Student of Hiruzen and children of Uzu" Tobirama smiled proudly at them.

The three let out a collective sigh of relief.

"Now, seal me and help my brother" His voice was more of a command than a request.

"Don't need to tell me twice..." Samenosuke grunted, already working on a seal with Jiraiya. The thought of fighting the God of Shinobi from the Clan Wars era was not exactly appealing to him...

Kushina looked back at the unnatural visage of the white haired Senju, and was reminded of her own father's state. How he was forced to fight against his own flesh and blood.

"Why would you design a technique like this?" She couldn't help but ask.

Tobirama sighed, "It wasn't meant to be like this. The human sacrifice aspect... it was the reason I hid it away. I could never gather enough chakra to bring back someone to fight for long. But turning every single cell of the body into chakra..."

"That's... nigh infinite energy" Kushina said horrified at the prospect of something that would not run out of power.

"Those were desperate times" He said, his voice remorseful. "I knew many who would gladly let themselves be summoned to protect Konoha, myself included. But these control parameters? I never designed such a thing"

"I guess we know who to thank for that" Jiraiya spoke with an edge to his voice.

Tobirama's red eyes closed for a moment, before giving the Uzumaki woman before him an appraising look. "You come from a strong lineage child. Daisuke is your father right? I always knew he'd grow to become an outstanding warrior"

"Oh hime is more than the Uzukage's child!" Samenosuke grinned mid-work. "She's one of Tsukiko-baachan's three grandchildren!"

At that the Nidaime blinked before he took a long gaze at the Uzu woman in question. Surveying all of her features he did indeed see the resemblance to the goddess of Fūinjutsu. Speaking of the woman; "Where is Tsukiko-sama?"

A downcast gaze came from Kushina while both Jiraiya and Samenosuke bore mournful expressions; "We don't know. She had vanished on a mission during the Second Shinobi War. It was about then when Uzushio was destroyed by Kumogakure, Iwagakure, and the Kurokiba." Kushina murmured in a quiet tone.

"WHAT!?" The normally calm Senju bellowed in pure disbelief. Unable to comprehend which revelation he just heard was more heartbreaking. "H-How..."

Jiraiya grunted as recalled those days; "Honestly, the Second War was a pile of battles that kept escalating until it became open war. I fought in that one along with Orochimaru and your grandniece Tsunade. The whole thing was a damn mess. Our forces were too thin when got word Tsukiko-sama vanished and Uzushio was soon attacked. Kushina was brought here before it all happened."

Tobirama, known for keeping a cool head even in the most dire of situations, who had went willingly to face his death with nothing but a smile and the drive to protect his village, looked crestfallen. "Your clan was always so rowdy. To be around them was usually a test to your patience... And yet I was fond of every Uzumaki I knew. Your clan and mine... we were family after all"

Kushina remained silent.

"Tsukiko-sama was an inspiration for me and my brother. This village was built on two rival clans setting aside their differences, but without the support of your clan I doubt we would have gotten so far, without her advice we'd just have been scrambling around to keep things together"

A small smile slowly formed on her lips, "Yeah, baachan was always so wise"

"That she was" The Nidaime smiled warmly with nostalgia. "Do not give up hope, child. If there is something you Uzumaki are good at, is always surprising people. There is no doubt in my mind that more of your clan is out there, waiting to return home. That out there, SHE is waiting for you"

Kushina blinked away a few tears as gave a nod; "We will find her." Though shaky, her voice held the usual Uzumaki iron will Tobirama had heard countless times.

He gave a return nod as Jiraiya and Samenosuke came over with the seal; "Live well, all of you. Rescue my brother and save the village."

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

At Sasuke's side Abhay and Ajeet fight against several Oto. Ty Lee to the Uchiha's surprise proved capable despite her youth, tearing out the throat of an enemy that got too closer.

Well that was something.

Close by Hinata and Karin were back to back as they fended off against the Jounin Oto leader. The man was proving to be clever and dangerous staying out of reach from Hinata's attacks along with Karin's. "Orochimaru-Sama would be pleased if we're able to take in a Hyuuga. He has been quite fascinated with your clan."

The shy heiress fought off the cold shiver down her spine as she remained focused. "You will not have me or Karin-san as prizes for your master."

A chuckled came from the Jounin; "Who said you had a choice girl."

He pulled out a small bomb from his pouch and casually threw it. He didn't even bother aiming it right.

Karin immediately recognized the tool for what it was. "Hinata-san, close you eye-!"

But it was too late; a burst of light enveloped their vision. A white blare burning their eyes with its intensity. Hinata, who's Byakugan, was activated, let out a cry of agony as the sensation her dojutsu had only made things worse for her.

Karin had been more fortunate, her gaze was only slightly blurry and quickly recovering. "Are you okay?!"

"Can't-" Pained tears gathered at the corners of her now reddened eyes. "Can't see!"

Karin was quick to offer her arm, "Here, don't ask question, just bite my arm and-!"

Her words were cut off by a manriki chain enveloping against her body, the weights at the side making sure they snared her tightly. She fell unto her back against the large branch with a heavy thud. "Grhg!" She struggled in vain to loosen the chains.

"There we go" The Oto Nin said with satisfaction. "I bet Orochimaru-sama will reward me handsomely for taking you to him. You know what he likes to do to traitors~"

"You son of a bitch..." Karin swore. "I'd die before letting him get his hands on me"

"Don't tempt me" The jōnin warned. "Now, for you little Hyuuga" He took a menacing step towards the blinded girl, who could only face the direction of where the voice was coming from, her gaze too blurry to make out anything.

He reached forth towards her...

"Two o'clock!"

Hinata wasted no time in reacting; placing her trust in Naruto's cousin as she took a stance, dodging the direction Karin warned her about and struck. Though she couldn't see; her knowledge of anatomy still worked to delivered particularly painful nerve strikes.

"Ugh!" The jōnin backed away, holding his stomach with one arm. He glared at the chained up Uzumaki girl. "You little-!"

"Straight on, one meter!"

The young Hyuuga followed Karin's instruction flawlessly, deliver a powerful double palm strike to the man's midsection. A squeak barely escaped the Jounin's mouth as he stood froze in place. "I'm sorry." Hinata gently spoke as the man fell off from the branch and down to the ground below, dead. She had stuck the chakra points to his heart, thus ceasing it functions and killing him.

Karin only watched the man fall as her eyesight improved. "Karin-San, where are you?" The Hyuuga asked as he eyes were taking longer.

"Straight in front of you." Hinata followed Karin's voice till glancing the redhead's sandals. Kneeling down she felt the chains and quickly removed them. Once getting her arms and hands free Karin did the rest. "How are your eyes?"

Instead of answering Hinata surveyed the area around them; "Blurry..." She had recalled her father's lessons on the dangers of flares with their Doujutsu.

Getting to her feet Karin assisted Hinata to stand; "Should take a few minutes." Both girls yelped and held each other as a strong rumble shock the area. Further ahead of the two Karin saw the top half of a dozen trees being cut? And fell hard onto the ground shaking the area violently. It was then she noticed Sakura and Haku avoiding visible blades made of pure wind being sent by Temari's war fan.

"Just how-"

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

"-powerful is she!?" the rosette exclaimed beside the lovely hyoton user as they took cover.

"You can't hide from me ladies!" Temari declared with a smirk. "I can level this forest if I have to."

Haku huffed beside Haruno who panted lightly; "With her control of wind nature I don't think she is kidding."

The four-pigtailed girl spread her war fan once more; chakra gathered around it and was amplified through the weapon's own enhancements. She let loose a gust of cutting wind that cut multiple trees on its path, wood splintered while trunks groaned and fell in pieces, branches were torn apart as dust and pieces of bark flew through the air. Sakura and Haku braced themselves, pressing their backs to the tree, which had been just outside the blonde's range.

"You think my wind is strong now?" The eldest of the Sand Siblings boasted, "Just wait, one day I won't even need this thing anymore!" She soon grinned, "Not that you'll live to see it that is"

"Why are you doing this?!" Sakura shouted from her position, the echo throughout their section of the forest, now bereft of more trees as it was, stopping the Sand Ninja from figuring out their position. "Betraying the treaty, attacking our village! We did nothing to you!"

"You call that insulting thing a 'treaty'!?" Temari growled in reply, surveying the area in her search for the two. "It was draining our village dry! We had to make so many compromises just to stay afloat, and that greedy bastard of our daimyo wouldn't even lift a finger to help our situation, oh no! Instead, he chooses to hire you people for most of the missions that should rightfully go to us!"

"It's this what it's all about!?" Sakura replied incredulously, anger seeping through her words. "Money!?"

"It's more than just money, you tree hugging little twat!" The older girl snarled in return. "It's about making sure our village doesn't end up as an abandoned ruin! We're one of the Big Five, and we will do whatever it takes to make sure our village thrives!" It was not out of hatred of Konoha that she spoke, no; her actions were motivated by something beyond anger or resentment. She acted out of loyalty for her people, obeying the orders of her father and Kage. "If we have to bury your village for that, so be it!"

Her goading seemed to have taken the effect she wanted. As the pinkette jumped from behind a tree, a look of outrage written on her face, and charged directly at Temari, jumping over the various trees on her way.

The Sand ninja grinned to herself. Honestly, she heard pinky was as smart as she was strong, and still she ended up doing a mistake like this. With a simple swing of her war fan, she sent a gust of powerful wind straight for the young Konoha ninja.

Her grin fell the moment the gust hit, and the girl's form just shimmered in the air and vanished. It was hard to notice at first, with so many shadows from the tree line with few rays of sunlight seeping through, she had failed to notice the girl's body did not, in any moment, create a shadow while she moved through the branches.

She had been fooled by a simple clone.

Temari frantically gazed around; if pinky had sent a clone like that to distract her then it meant those two must have been planning something to take her down. She gripped her war fan tightly, quickly pondering if she should merely send a gust of wind in all directions. But if she timed it too late then she would leave herself open and-

The tree she was standing on shook.

"What the...?" She looked down, all the way down to the base, where she saw a small pink and red figure standing there. Punching the tree.

That bore repeating, she was punching the tree.

Usually a tactic like that was plain stupid-

Sakura let out a strong cry, her next punch making a huge dent on the tree's trunk, bark splintering and flying off upon contact. The tree shook once more and Temari had to steady herself with chakra on her feet as not to fall.

-but then again, most ninja didn't have strength of this level by just applying chakra to their limbs.

With one final roar, and much to Temari's utter shock, the younger rosette haired girl gave a punch that tore through the trunk of the tree, it began to fall. Leaping off and using her fan as a glide, Temari landed safely to the ground. Preparing to retaliate she growled as she noticed Haruno was gone. But her brain soon registered something amiss.

Where was the Kiri Nin?

The blond's dangerous senses screamed as she turned using her fan to block several senbon. _'All of those were aimed to paralyze me!'_ The level of precision… but she wouldn't let them intimidate her."That all you got Kiri?!"

"Please stop." The Yuki's voice came from all around the Suna Kunoichi. "If you stop this now-"

"I do not want to hear from someone who comes from the 'Bloody Mist' village!" Temari snapped; "Your people's sense of progress was slaughtering people with Kekkai Genkai. All for progress wasn't it?"

Hiding in the bushes and around some trees, Sakura noticed Haku stiffen up upon hearing that. "Let me guess, your clan survived by killing everyone else?" Temari taunted more. "Kill a few yourself? Bet your parents were proud."

A deep chill ran down the rosette's spine as she saw a blank look appear upon the Hyoton user's face. Though her face was expressionless, that was a deception as Sakura felt something she had never felt from Haku.

Rage...

In a blink the Kiri Kunoichi vanished beside her Konoha comrade. What happened next was forever burned into both Temari's and Sakura's mind for the rest of their lives. The Suna sharply turned and leapt away from a dozen ice senbon that came raining down. "That all you g-" Her died in her throat as Haku seemingly appeared like a ghost and slammed her fist into the Suna's gut.

Spit and blood came from Temari's mouth, how the hell did the Kiri move so fast!?

Temari mustered all the strength she could and swung her closed fan, feeling heavier than a few moments before. But the attack was too slow, and Haku easily backed away.

It was then that she saw a blue rectangular figure sticking out like a sore thumb in the middle of all the greenery. The ice mirror stood floating in mid-air as Haku slipped into it, literally merging into it as multiple ice mirrors appeared all around the Suna Nin.

All Temari could do was stare slack jawed as multiple images of the Mist ninja appeared in each mirror. Each of them slowly emerging from the ice structures, reminding Temari of a scary story she had heard long ago, about a creepy spectre that could move through reflections.

These Mist types were creepy, all of them.

"Mere ice" She grunted in defeat, her mouth still wet with her own blood. "Should not have bullshit powers like this"

"Well..." Haku began as all of her clones threw multiple senbon at the four-pigtailed girl. Temari remained frozen in place, looking very much like a pincushion before she fell down to the ground in a stiff position. "You're not wrong"

How Haku spoke towards her downed foe with pure frigid apathy was so unnerving to the pinkette who watched on. The brunette never spoke like that when as enemies in Nami, or now as a friend. Her tone was always warm, kind, gentle. Like the older sister everyone wished they had.

Thankfully that quickly returned as glanced over to where she and Sakura had hid; "You can come out Sakura-san. I rendered her unconscious."

Coming out the rosette cringed at the state of the Suna; "Bit brutal wasn't it? Did what she say bother you?"

Haku closed her eyes with a calm breathe; "...When the invasion has been stopped, I'll share with you what I told Naruto-kun and Kushina-dono."

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

"I really hate those damn things!" Kiba snarled beside Akamaru henged in human form. Both dodged and avoided the random but deadly strikes coming from Kankuro and his puppets.

Beside him Shino did the same; "He is keeping us at a safe distance so we don't get too close."

Kiba dryly deadpanned; "Yeah I figured that out, I'm not that dense man."

If that wasn't enough, some of those Sound ninja had joined to aid the puppeteer. Kankuro took advantage of his opponent's attention being divided and hid amongst the foliage, letting those Oto goons faces them directly while he secretly directed Karasu from safety.

Kiba dodged the blades that extended from the puppet's arms, these burying on the branch where he used to be. His nose immediately warned him about the stench of something foul, and saw how the bark around them darkened with purplish color. Poison, so heavy in quantities it was practically dripping from those blades. One hit and they'd likely be paralyzed.

"Watch out Shino!" Kiba warned; roadhouse kicking an incoming Oto Nin to the ground as Akamaru wildly mauled the face of another against a three. "The puppet has enough poison to kill a lion!"

"As expected" The heir of the Aburame clan replied, "Why? Because Suna puppeteers use every possible ninja tool into their creations" A cloud of bugs appeared from his arms, swarming two Oto Nin, who cried out as they began biting every visible part of their skin. "Keep your distance Kiba, it's unlikely that is the only weaponry at its-"

The puppet Karasu opened its maw, and fired a large bomb at their direction

"-disposal" Shino finished quietly as he gathered his insects in front of him, forming a shield. Kiba and Akamaru leapt out of the way, hiding behind the three as the bomb detonated with a fiery blast.

Kiba huffed tiredly beside his henged puppy. "You doing okay boy?" Akamaru nodded; "Good." He glanced over to his teammate; "So do we deal with these guys?"

"Getting rid of the Suna should be first. Then we deal with Oto. That puppet is too dangerous to ignore."

"Expect the Mr. Pajamas is hiding himself somewhere. I can't sniff him out with all the smells around here." Akamaru barked in a manner stated he couldn't either.

Shino adjusted his shades; "Leave that to me."

The remaining Oto Nin hung back beside the Suna puppet as they observe the explosion. None spoke as they waited for any sign of movement in the smoke and dust. From his vantage point, Kankuro observed as the battle grew still for a moment. He knew a single bomb wouldn't be enough to take out those tree huggers. No doubt they were regrouping right now, but it was only a matter of time before they slipped up. They were outnumbered, and once Gaara was done with his fight then-

The sounds of trees snapping along with the roar of something akin to a drill made of wind and claws snapped him from his thoughts.

Kankuro turned with a click of his tongue as he saw a gray whirlwind cutting a path through the canopy, going directly for him. With no choice left, he jumped out of the way, revealing his position.

The Oto ninja were momentarily distracted, enough time for a swarm of insects to assault them from below, soon covering their bodies and attacking from all directions.

Kankuro bit back a curse, his allies were no good, and that spiraling drill of devastation kept coming for him. With a tug of his fingers, Karasu moved just in time to save him from danger. He saw the whirlpool cease its motion, revering to that Inuzuka and his mutt, standing one over the other in a branch.

"No way to run now!"

The puppeteer made Karasu's arms open, from the empty inner sections of the limbs; he fired multiple projectiles akin to missiles. Kiba and Akamaru jumped out of the way, the blast and smoke covering everything for many meters.

Kankuro thought the two would try to attack from another side, but to his surprise they actually jumped through the smoke and charged directly at him. A mistake.

Karasu's limbs flew apart, compartments opening to reveal poisonous blades. They moved at tremendous speed, quickly catching up to the due mid jump. He grinned with satisfaction as their bodies were pierced with the puppet's legs and arms.

His celebration quickly turned to shock, as their bodies seemed to crumble away into a type of writhing grey and black substance. No, bugs he realized. His eyes widened as he understood that those things had been bug clones, already they were enveloping his puppet's parts, the bugs moved through the crevices and joints, every possible opening where they got in between the mechanisms where gears crushed them, and soon were locked, unable to move under the mass of insects running through them.

As if that wasn't enough, they had already begun running through his invisible chakra threads. He quickly weighted his options, if he let go of Karasu now he'd be defenseless, but if those bugs reached him then it meant certain defeat.

Before he could come to a decision, two sets of legs collided with his back in a powerful dropkick. Kiba let out a howl-like cheer of victory as he and Akamaru drove the Sand Ninja to the ground.

Kankuro was hit with such force he was knocked unconscious, his puppet laid in pieces close by. "Hell yeah!" Kiba patted Shino's back as he soon joined his side with Akamaru. "A win for the badass bros of Team 8!" Akamaru barked happily returning to his canine form.

"You forgot we're here?" Sasuke quipped as he and the others gather beside them. Kiba did a double take at the sight of two adult tigers and white furred tiger cub resting on the Uchiha's head. Sasuke glared upon hearing Kiba snicker at him; "What?"

Karin ignored them as she looked in the direction her cousin and Yugi-chan lead Gaara away. She peered to her side to Hinata who rubbed her eyes; "You okay?"

"I can see again, I'll be fine." She was going to have one hell of an eye-ache tonight though. "We need to help Naruto-kun and Yugito-san."

Carrying a semi-conscious Temari, Haku shook her head; "We can't."

"What?! Why the hell not?!" Kiba shouted as Akamaru rested back on his master's head. "Our numbers should be able to kick that Gaara's ass to next week."

The amur tiger spoke up; "Your friend is correct. This Gaara is a Jinchurriki yes?" Not that Ajeet needed to ask he could smell the Bijuu from where they were.

"A Jinchurriki battle is best left with the Jinchurriki," Abhay voice his own opinion. Conflicts such as those were too dangerous for normal people.

Ty Lee whined at that; "Can't we help just a little?"

"Yeah!" Sakura agreed, her voice gaining an angry edge to it. The feeling of being... useless was just... the only thing that hurt more was the thought of her comrades getting hurt. That Naruto was giving it his all out there and that she couldn't do anything. "I refuse to stand by and do nothing!"

Abhay (Sasuke thought that was Abhay, the brothers looked too similar) let out a sardonic snarl. "Well in that case, are any of you a sealing specialist?"

He was met with a round of silent stares.

"Do you have any sort of power that can be useful against a Biju's?"

More silence.

"Do you have access to giant summons?"

Uneasy looks were exchanged.

"Or are you capable of unleashing tremendous level of power capable of leveling mountains?"

"Now you're just being unfair" Kiba retorted.

"Bottom line is" The other tiger, Ajeet (or so Sasuke guessed), followed up. "Unless we can actually provide an edge to this fight. The most we can do is distract the Suna Jinchuuriki. We have to hope they can bring him down before his Bijuu power is unleashed. It always comes down to that in Jinchuuriki battles, or so the elders tells us"

"Oh! Don't you have the Sharingan, Sasuke!?" Ty Lee bounced on her paws on top of his head. "Madara Uchiha could control Biju like that!"

He grunted in reply, that name wasn't one that his clan liked to bring up. "I'm not Madara" He said, picking her off his head and setting her on the ground.

"Then I'll have to use my deadliest technique, mom said it was devastating after all" The tiger cub said with a surprising serious air about her.

Her brothers looked less than thrilled. "Oh please, Ty Lee don't-"

She suddenly began hissing and making a rather disgusting noise with her throat, as though she was choking on something. The others watched with varying degrees of disgust as with a final wet 'WHAGHK' noise, she regurgitated out a hairball.

She nodded, looking very pleased with herself. "This will kill him"

After a moment of bewildered silence, Karin summed up their situation perfectly.

"This is not a good day"

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

Being a good distances away from the others, Naruto and Yugito stopped with Gaara soon ending his pursuit of them. Pure malice and hate gleamed in the Suna's eyes as his targets got ready to fight. "Have finally decided to stop running and face me?" He sneered in actual anger while sand danced around him.

"We have to fight him smart Naruto." Nii murmured under her breathe. "That sand catches us, we're dead."

"I know," The blond Uzumaki clinched his fists as he stared into Gaara's eyes. "Let's try avoiding killing him if we can."

To that statement Yugito paused; "We might not be able to, but I'll follow your lead." Their danger senses kicked in as they leapt away from the branched they stood on as torrents of sand tore through them.

"No more talking!" Gaara roared as his sand went on the attack. A wall of wand soon rose catching a dozen crystal shuriken. However he moved as large fireballs of blue and black flames came for him.

Yugito cursed as she kept on the move; "Well he is in the crazy category, not stupid." The younger unhinged teen was aware of what fire can do to sand if heated by intense flames.

"Was worth a shot." Naruto remarked near his fellow blond as he quickly created two human size dragons of crystal. Both creations roared as they flew and went straight for Gaara. However the young Uzumaki's jaw went slack as they both crystal dragons were shattered by a single swipe of sand. "What the hell is that stuff made of?!"

 **"Abject stupidity,"** Kurama quipped a flat tone retort. It had become quite clear to Naruto and Yugito who also overheard the fox, did not remotely think highly of his fellow Bijuu. Matatabi only rolled her eyes in exasperation. Gyūki would have lost his temper by now if he or his 'mentally unique' host were here.

 **"Actually, Shukaku's sand is a combination of multiple factors"** Matatabi explained in a very teacher-like voice, all the while the two jinchuuriki jumped from tree to tree, avoiding the swaths of sand coming their way. **"It's manipulated by a type of magnet release which guides the minerals that make up sand, and reinforced with earth chakra."**

Naruto let out a yelp as the branch he landed on was broken by a swipe of Gaara's sand. As he fell he saw the tendrils of sand reaching towards him, so he quickly created a clone and had it grab his hands and spin him around, throwing the original with great force. Naruto winced the moment he managed to jump unto another tree as he got the memory of the clone being crushed by the sand.

"So Gaara has magnet release!?" Yugito asked her tenant as her claws elongated; turning in midair she fired arcs of blue flames which effortlessly clashed against the sand that rose to defend the red haired boy. "Same way I have your flames!?"

 **"Hmm, yes but it's more than that"** It irked her a bit that Matatabi sounded rather calm in this moment. **"The line of the Kazekage's has had magnet release. Those marks around his eyes? A sign of his bloodline limit manifesting at birth, most likely boosted by Shukaku's own magnet element"**

"Well that's cool I guess!" Naruto grunted as he manifested spear made of pure crystal and threw it at Gaara. As expected, the sand deflected it, but the seals he had placed on it shined brightly and detonated right in front of Gaara.

The smoke was quickly blown away by waves of sand, revealing a very much unharmed and bloodthirsty Jinchuuriki.

"Well, shoot" The blonde Uzumaki muttered before speaking to his tenant. "Any cool power ups you could give me right now!?"

Kurama yawned, **"Well I can sense emotions. But honestly-"**

The Suna Jinchuuriki snarled, "I'll kill you, I'll bath in your blood!"

 **"-You don't need that to get a read on him"**

"No duh..." The blond deadpanned before dodging several more sand tendrils. "We have to get around that damn sand!"

"I'm open to suggestions!" Yugito irritably snapped back before attempting more fire attacks. Once again to the older blond's ire the Suna Jinchurriki moved away mere seconds before being blasted. However she was caught off guard as a huge torrent of sand came for her. She had no time to escape!

Till two hands shoved her from behind harshly. Her feline eyes saw Naruto before being encased within the sand. _'NO!'_

A savage maniacal grin formed on Gaara's lips. His right open hand raised, "Now die-." The sand that enveloped Naruto exploded before he could finish speaking. The force of the explosion surprised both Gaara and Yugito as they were nearly sent flying. Chakra laced on their feet kept them ground and seen the sight shown them of Naruto made the Suna smile with psychotic glee; "Finally..."

Landing on a brand Naruto crouched with visible red chakra coming off his body in the form of a one tailed fox. His cerulean blue eyes now blood crimson and slit, his whiskers now darker and more defined. His nails on his fingers and toes were now claws. The blond Uzumaki only glared heatedly with Yugito soon joining him, though warily.

 _'Your chakra doesn't feel like that.'_ The Kumo spoke to her Bijuu. So much hate and anger radiated off from that red energy. A huge contrast from Naruto's, which usually feels kind and warm

 **"It used to kitten, a long time ago. Kurama hasn't let go of his hate like I have. But doesn't make me better than my brother. I've done as much evil as he has."** Matatabi grew quiet as both Naruto and Yugito had heard her.

Kurama only scoffed but spoke no retort.

"You finally decided to stop pretending to be human Uzumaki... And show your real self." It was disturbing how pleased Gaara sounded.

At those words Naruto frown; "I haven't stop being human Gaara!"

Kurama's energy, it was... overwhelming. And it carried with it anger, and hate, so much of it that he felt he would drown in it. So he countered with his own positive emotions. The smiles of his friends, the love of his mother, the loyalty to his village. It reminded him he was alive, and he had much to live for.

That he had so much to fight for.

Teeth gnashed in growing anger. "Why" Gaara seethed, feeling a burning fury building inside him. Such as he hadn't felt in years, "do you delude yourselves so much!?"

"Why do you!?" It was Yugito who replied, and before the widening eyes of the boys, her body became shrouded in a haze of fiery blue chakra. Her features, just like Naruto's, were becoming more savage. Animal like even.

Power filled their every beings, down to last fiber. They leapt from the trees with such strength the branches were torn off with brutal force. They became blurs of color in the air.

Gaara's eyes widened, a small gasp of shock escaping his lips. His sand moved automatically on defense before he even realized, on every direction they struck. Chakra shrouded hands in the shape of claws cut through portions of his defense, getting uncomfortably close. He tried to move to a more advantageous position, floating in a cloud of dense sand, trying to get away from any trees the two might use as leverage to get close.

But it was useless, they moved with such speed, and the strength in the leg muscles made their jumps cross the distance in the blink of an eye.

"Why do you need us to believe that!?" The Konoha shinobi demanded, as he delivered a sweeping kick that Gaara's sand only barely managed to parry.

Swaths of blue flames struck against his ever present shield, "Why do you need to believe it!?"

Because it hurt... because it always hurt.

Blood. Battle. Death. It all made it simpler; it filled that hole in his chest.

Images flashed before his eyes. People running away from him, looking at him with fear and hate. Trying to wound him, to kill him.

The most painful of all was the kind smile of his uncle.

 _The thing that can heal a wound in the heart... is love._

They were like mirages in the desert, they showed only lies.

He could never receive someone's love. Not from the mother who died cursing him, not from the uncle who only lied to him.

Not from the village that used him, not from a father who saw him as nothing but a weapon.

No... Nobody in this world could love monsters.

Gaara had learnt that the only person who could love him was himself, so he had sworn to love nobody but him, to live only for himself.

The world made a demon, and so he would become an asura then, a selfish demon.

But...

"HYAAAAAH!" Twin battle cries echoed through the forest, fists shrouded in chakra nearly reaching his face, just by a few short inches, before being repelled by his sand once more.

These two... they smiled, and other people smiled at them.

They, who should be demons like him, could laugh. And others could laugh with them.

The pain, the whole in his chest... it resurfaced like never before.

It was agonizing, and from it surged pure rage.

"Because..."

His sand flowed everywhere, dozens upon dozens of spears forming mid-air, raining death upon the two blonde Jinchuuriki. Naruto and Yugito dodged through them with dexterity, or blasted them to pieces with their enhanced physical might.

"Why did I turn out like this?"

Sand surged forward like a tidal wave, bringing down trees with its sheer weight and tearing through the forest with great devastation.

Teal eyes quivered with untold rage and pain, his throat nearly hurting itself with the strength of his shout, "AND YOU DIDN'T!?"

Naruto and Yugito stood side by side, on his palm glowed a crimson Rasengan, while her claws became alight with flames so hot they could melt metal.

Gaara needed to make them disappear, if he did, then the pain would stop. No more confusion, no more agony at seeing such existences that made him question his own.

He would feel their blood, and once again he'd be whole.

So he sent down tidal wave of sand upon them... and they met it head on.

The orb of chakra drilled a path straight through it, while the claws cut through with strikes too fast for inexperienced eyes to follow.

Gaara could feel his blood boiling, they... just... wouldn't... stop!

"Why won't you die!?"

He gasped when their figures appeared right before him, two pairs of resolute eyes bearing down on him.

This drive... this strength... how could they be this strong?

"HAAAAAAH!"

Two fists pierced right through the sand that came up to defend him, and collided directly with his face. The sand armor cracked and fell, and Gaara was sent flying straight to the ground at great velocity, dragging a patch of earth along the path as he crashed.

The force of their attacks and Gaara's made a decent size crater. Naruto huffed beside Yugito who wiped her brow. "Keep your chakra cloak up just in case," the older teen stated as she and the young Uzu leapt down to the ground. They stood at the craters edge and stared at the fallen Gaara who remained flat on his face.

But he was far from unconscious as they heard him snarling like a wild animal. His eyes glared up at both of them with pure hate. However, Naruto only felt pity along with Yugito at their fellow Jinchurriki. "It's over Gaara." The younger blond spoke as he crouched, feeling more comfortable in that position.

"YOU SHOW WEAKNESS BY REFUSING TO KILL ME, AND YET I CAN'T EVEN KILL YOU?!" The Suna's voice in a near crazed panic; "I WON'T CEASE TO EXIST!"

What the hell did Suna do to drive someone this far gone? Did that village really believe turning someone into a blood crazed lunatic made them an effective warrior? Not even Kumogakure did such barbaric practices on their Jinchurriki. Least as far as Yugito knew anyways. "Well, all we have to do now is take him back." The Kumo Kunoichi smirked over to her Konoha comrade.

"Maybe mom or Ero-Sennin can help him." Naruto murmured quietly as his red chakra tail swayed.

But hearing that Gaara went into a deeper panic; "NO! I WON'T BE TAKEN! NO ONE WILL END MY **EXISTENCE**!" His last word became a roar with an eruption of sand engulfing the Suna.

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

The Oto Nin charged with a snarl, the thought of his comrades being bested by these... these fucking children sent him over the edge. They were just brats, playing at being ninja, and yet they were taking them down one by one. His knuckles popped with the strain of his grip on the sword's handle, a nodaichi as long as he was tall, and brought it down upon one of those smug brats, seeking to cut her down in half and finally wipe out that smug-

His blade fell in pieces before they even touched her.

The Sound Ninja could only stand there, holding the handle of his blade with shaky hands. The bun haired girl before him spun a dagger in her hand, one of a set of two, the other held firmly in her hand. Their handles were like those of a kunai, only longer and slightly larger, and the blades themselves were rather curbed, with one side sharp and the other blunt. The most noticeable trait was their coloration. Pitch black, yet shiny all the same, like forged out of crystallized coal.

"Neat huh?" The young weapon mistress grinned. "Ebony. One of the best metals out there. The ore was a gift from a friend's aunt"

The Oto Nin gulped.

With a blur of movement, Tenten buried her daggers into his chest, ending his life swiftly before kicking the body away.

"Ahhhhh" She sighed content, carefully wiping the blood of her new weapons. "You two are my favorite babies now"

A deadpanning response was soon heard behind her, "Your obsession with weapons is a bit disturbing. Have you thought about getting some help?" Ino spoke with a drawl. "We Yamanaka have great therapist"

"You make it sound like I have sort of fetish" Tenten droned back.

"Well... don't you?"

The bun haired girl gave a dull glare at the Yamanaka. Compared to Lee, their sensei, and even Neji; Tenten felt she was the most mentally stable among them. So what if she loved weapons, everyone has a hobby!

Maiyuri huffed out a sigh observing the last of the enemies being brought down by her group. Close by she saw Chouji and Shikamaru aiding an exhausted Iruka under the Academy tree to sit. The man fought valiantly, along with all the surviving teachers. The barrier seal had been given enough time to be completed and raised, much to everyone's relief.

That just left the remaining Oto and Kurokiba to take care of.

The princess looked upon the Academy grounds, corpses laid scattered where children were meant to play. Oto and Konoha alike. It was of no comfort to see that the fallen enemy ninja outnumbered that of their loyal people.

These brave warriors of their nation had given their lives so the non-combatants could be safe. Gladly laid down their lives so the young could live theirs.

And yet not all of them were adults.

She barely registered she had begun walking when she approached the body of a young ninja. Dark scruffy hair, his clothes did not stand out much, they were all simply and tactical. On his limp hand he held a bloody kunai, while another rested atop a deep wound on his chest. Close to him was a fallen Oto Nin... This young man had gone down fighting.

He couldn't be older than fourteen, thirteen at the least, and yet he had given his life already. He had died a soldier, loyal to his village till the end.

To ninja, it was something to show honor and respect to. He sacrificed his life as any hero of the village would.

To Maiyuri, it was a senseless waste. Her fingers trailed over the soft locks of his hair before gently reaching for his other hand, and placing it upon his chest, joining the other.

He had been just a kid...

Her lip trembled as she bit down the choked sob that threatened to escape.

They were all kids. What kind of world was this, where they allowed their children, who had their entire lives before them, to fight in wars and make the sacrifices that adults should be making for them?

But nobody saw anything wrong with this. It was all tradition they said, this was expected of them.

At times, Maiyuri thought that perhaps she was in the wrong. Who was she to dictate how these people lived, how the shinobi way should be?

But kneeling before the lifeless body of this child, amidst the multiple bodies of their fallen brave, all Maiyuri saw was pointless death and suffering. Honoring dead heroes was a poor compensation for the lives lost. Upholding tradition was a poor excuse for throwing children into this kind of life.

A large hand rested upon her shoulder, and Maiyuri turned her head startled. She had been too lost in thought to notice her dear companion standing next to her, hunching over as to touch her shoulder.

The horse's eyes looked at her with understanding and compassion. "There is nothing you could have done"

She blinked the tears gathering at the corner of her eyes away. "No... There is much I can still do"

Ushiwakamaru let out a long breath, standing up to full height in his centaur form, looking back at the entrance. "The jōnin are coming back"

Indeed, she saw the group of older higher ranked ninja returning, led by Hatake at the head. "Hime-sama" He said with a respectful tone, bowing at the waist.

Maiyuri stood up, fighting back the turmoil she had previously felt. "Report"

"HQ is free of invaders. But we discovered unsettling news" Kakashi announced with troubled voice, making the princess and the ninja look at him with apprehension. Was there something that would actually make this situation even worse? "According to the information obtained by Jiraiya-sama and his agents, the Kazekage was found dead"

Well, the silver haired Jounin had meant to tell her sooner back in the arena but everything was just too hectic. Shock was fixed on both the Kiri and Kumo Nin, "Holy shit." Omoi surprisingly spoke up the sentiment of everyone just hearing this revelation.

"Wh-What?!" Maiyuri quickly steeled her shock. "How?"

"Unknown, Jiraiya's agents only discovered Rasa's corpse in the sands a good distance from Sunagakure." Kakashi spoke while his uncovered eye surveyed everyone around them. He was relieved seeing all the Genin alive.

"Orochimaru has been manipulating Suna. For a long while most likely." Karui deduced as she ran her hand through her hair; "That is fuck up."

However Maiyuri was not listening as she felt rage surging through her veins; "All that vile traitor does is destroy and corrupt lives!" She roared with pure fury.

"Compose yourself" Her faithful companion spoke in his deep voice, crossing large arms across his armored chest. "You must think more clearly"

His words rang true; this whole situation... no kind of training or education could have ever prepared her for dealing with so much death and chaos everywhere. She was letting her emotions get the better of her, when she needed to keep a calm head.

She took a deep breath, remembering the lessons the monks taught her, and turned to Kakashi once more. "What else?"

"The battle at the arena continues. All we can do is let Hokage-sama and the others handle the situation there" They had to put their trust in their leader, "While the snake chief remains he is battling the dragon and toad chiefs. Few snakes remain on the village and they're being engaged, but a powerful one has joined the largest force of Suna and Oto nin near the village gates" The Hatake explained, "They have fortified themselves there, currently our forces are regrouping for one final push to drive them out"

"I see" The princess closed her eyes, weighting their options. They could try and assist the Hokage and his allies in the fight against Orochimaru, but... "How pressing is the situation at the village gates?"

"For all we know they could be making preparations to summon more reinforcements" Yamato took over, "And that snake there seems to be one of their elites. We haven't made any breakthrough"

Maiyuri pondered for a moment, "Then we march to the entrance. I trust Hiruzen-dono and the others to handle things in the arena. So pushing out what remains of the enemy should be our priority" She walked over to Ushiwakamaru and mounted him.

"Hime-sama" Iruka grunted as he took a step forward. "Let me jo-"

"No" She cut him off before he could finish. "You're in no shape. Stay here and receive medical attention" She said as she gave him a respectful look. "You have done enough, chunin-san. Let us handle things"

It obviously did not sit well with the Umino, but he could not ignore the princess' command. So he bowed and complied.

"Let's move!" She commanded.

And so they marched, Maiyuri rode atop her friend through the streets, while the shinobi jumped from roof to roof. It was a harsh sight, to see so many buildings wrecked or on fire. They had never witnessed this level of devastation before; this was their first introduction to war. Actual war.

"The village" Ino muttered mournfully.

"They're just buildings" Asuma spoke, his voice resolute and carrying an edge to it. "They can be rebuilt"

The heart of Konoha was its people, the Hokage often said, and now Ino was taking those words to heart. "Yes" She spoke with confidence. Now was the time to drive out the scum who dared harming their village.

As they approached the sector near the village gates, they noted there was a tall strong barrier that went all the way from the ground to the village walls around the gates. Behind the barrier they saw their enemies setting up a forward base, tending their wounded and making preparations for more summonings.

But what caught their attention the most was the ten story black snake, a rough-scaled bush viper with tremendously spiky and thick scales, a perfect armor. Many shinobi from Konoha were attacking it from all sides, firing blasts of elemental power and as many explosives as they could.

But the snake laughed at their attempts, **"Interesting tactic, puny ones! I didn't know you humans fought with tickles!"** The snake let out a savage swipe of his tail, carrying so much strength it sent a gale of typhoon like winds that sent the shinobi flying through the air, toppling houses on its path.

Samui blinked a few times witnessing the sheer power from the serpent single tail swipe. "That is problematic." Ino gulped down the fear she felt but her eyes remained wide.

Soujiro's eyes took in every inch of the enormous snake. Trying to analyze how to beat it. All he could come up with was to be fast and precise. Shikamaru's mind was running through a dozen scenarios and none of them were without possible casualties. He glanced over to his longtime friend; "How big can your body expansion get to Chouji?"

"Not enough to deal with that!"

Karui only looked as wary as Omoi, Kouhei, and Chojuro at the huge viper who laughed cruelly slaughtering any who came close. "How the fuck do we kill that thing?!" The ebony redhead questioned loudly.

Maiyuri only glared at the beast with a steely glare. These fiends have done enough to her people!

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

 **"Is this all Konohagakure can muster!? Uzushio put up a better fight!"** The viper's laugh boomed slamming it tail down, smashing a dozen Leaf and Water ninja not fast enough to escape.

Ahhh, once this place was purged of these pests it'll make for a great nest. Manda's deal with Orochimaru was unpopular with the clan, but they had to admit sometimes it turned up quite... profitable.

"ENOUGH!"

The viper's slit eyes caught sight of a human fledgling, still in her teen years, barely scrapping into adulthood by the looks of it. Soft rose colored hair with soft green eyes. Dressed in white a short kimono with a block obi around the waist, along with a black scarf that billowed with the wind. If glares could kill, the viper would have been pierced by a thousand blades by now.

She walked towards the viper, unafraid.

"You will not kill anyone else today"

 **"Oyaaah?"** The viper let out an amused sound, **"And who is this pest that dares tell me what I can and cannot do?"**

"Hime-sama!" One of the humans called for her in concern. "Get back here!"

The viper's eyes widened in recognition. **"Ohhhh! A royal pest I see!"** His large head leaned forward with interest. **"Does it anger you, 'your highness'"** He spoke the title with mockery, **"to see so many of your loyal subjects helplessly dying like this?"**

She did not answer, she merely kept advancing.

 **"Oh I can see it in your gaze. The anger, the hate"** He hissed with satisfaction, **"Yes... we Kurokiba live for hate"**

The princess still said nothing.

 **"My, so silent in the face of danger!"** The viper laughed in delight. **"Bravery like this is rare among your kind, so let me reward you"** Reptile eyes widened with sadistic joy, **"With a glorious death!"**

He darted forward with a blurring speed, its long body uncoiling as he moved in a straight line.

"Maiyuri-sama!" Kakashi called out once more, along with the other jōnin who quickly raced to protect her.

"Hmph! Do you have so little faith in your princess!?" Ushiwakamaru called out, folding his large arms in front of his chest. The horse looked too unperturbed by the thought of his master facing that thing alone.

Neji grunted, "Aren't you meant to protect her!?"

"Only from actual threats"

The princess slowly closed her eyes and joined her hands together.

The viper was mere meters before her, standing up to full height as to completely dwarf the human princess, making his shadow loom over her. He wanted to make sure she understood she was an insect before him.

Too drunk on bloodlust, the viper ignored the fiery red chakra gathering around her.

 **"Take with you my name so you will remember it for all eternity!"** The viper bellowed just before he dived down to devour the princess in one single gulp. **"For I am-!"**

The viper was bisected in a single slash.

A great ethereal blade passed through his body as though it cutting through nothing but air. Flesh and sinew was cut clearly, before being swiftly incinerated by the flames coming from the giant blade, leaving nothing but a cleaved skeleton.

The jōnin stopped right in their tracks, staring awestruck at the display of power.

Neji's eyes widened in disbelief, "What... is this?" His Byakugan it perceived... an amazing amount of spiritual power radiating from her.

Samui's cold facade was broken into a million pieces, leaving her to stare with open shock. "No way..."

The blast of spiritual fire was sent forth in a torrent of destruction, reducing everything in its path to mere ashes. It impacted over the Oto-Suna barrier, the flames spreading over it as it clashed. Cracks began forming all over it, spreading like twisted spider-webs.

And with the sound of breaking glass mixed with twisting metal, the barrier broke down. Sand and Sound ninja alike cried out with alarm at the display of pure power that utterly destroyed their first and second line of defense.

"What is that!?"

Their cause for alarm was the technique that had performed such a feat with ease. A demonic looking entity manifesting behind the princess, bluish skinned and shrouded in ethereal flames, holding on his hands a great red blade. A great red mandala hovered upon its back. Its face was the epitome of savagery, but guided by a sense of righteousness, sworn to unleash its wrath open the enemies of dharma. The shinobi of Konoha looked upon this divine figure with awe.

"Holy" Tenten began.

"Shit" Ino finished for her.

The asura-like entity... it was being manifested by the princess. She had conjured up such a being to deliver such outstanding power.

Though no less impressed, the Ino-Shika-Cho's teacher smirked with recognition. "Well I'll be... Raigō, the Welcoming Approach, and mastered at that" He looked at the princess with a sense of pride, knowing full well where she had learnt that technique. "Heh, you really did grow up a lot, hime-sama"

Though it was not the noble Kanon that he and Chiriku could summon, this was the Wisdom King Fudō Myō-ō, the dharmapala Acala. Defender of dharma, the wrathful god that destroyed evil and fought the enemies of the Buddha.

And just like it appeared, the manifestation vanished in a swath of ethereal red flames. The princess took a deep breath and lowered her arms, her steely gaze trailed upon their enemies. Many of them flinched and stepped back, and while their hearts grew heavy with fear, those of her loyal allies were elated with courage.

"Shinobi of Suna!" She called out, her voice echoing through the area. "Your Kage is dead!"

Cries of outrage and shock rang out.

"No!"

"Impossible!"

"How could Rasa-sama fall!?"

The princess took a step forward, "And he has been dead since before this invasion started!"

The cries fell silent, replaced by horrified shock.

"He has been slain!" Her arm shot up in accusation, "By the people you allied yourselves with!"

Suna turned to Oto with suspicion and outrage, "Is this true?!"

"Of course not!" Many tried to defend themselves. "Those are nothing but lies!"

"You now have a choice!" Maiyuri heard the footsteps of many shinobi joining her at her side, Ushiwakamaru valiantly standing next to her as Konoha and Kiri joined as one. "Leave now and return to your village, or die by our hands! But know that one way or another, judgement will come!"

She took out her blade, the act alone causing many of their enemies to flinch. The shinobi of Kiri and Konoha gazed upon them like hungry wolves stalking a wounded prey...

"To hell with this!" The ninja of the Sand turned tail and left through the gates, seeking to escape the furies of the former allies they had betrayed.

Oto now stood alone, quivering in their boots as they found themselves at the mercy of wronged shinobi eager for revenge.

"Konoha!" The princess raised her blade high, "Let us drive back this scum!"

They charged with a valiant war cry and descended upon their enemies with righteous ferocity. The last thing many of them saw was the flash of the princess' blade.

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

Utter sheer disbelief glowed on Manda's expression upon witnessing the sight of Fudō Myō-ō being summoned by a mere human girl! However anger quickly surged through him as saw countless corpses of his brood, by that insufferable fox and wolf, Bunta, or those filthy mongrel humans. A snarl escaped his maw seeing the two snake that came to aid him were torn apart by both Genryu and Bunta.

' _ **Those simians should have brought out that loathsome lunatic of a Bijuu. What I get for bargaining with humans. Orochimaru will answer for this slight!'**_ Manda sneered towards the dragon and toad chief; **"I will kill you both another time!"** And with those words the great serpent vanished in a burst of smoke.

" **COWARD!"** The ground shook from Genryu's enraged roar as he tail slammed onto the ground.

A scoff came from the chief toad as he whipped off his tanto with a few swings and sheathed it. **"Once a coward, always a coward."** Gamabunta huffed and blew out some smoke. Been a long time since he had a workout like this.

" **WOO! Now this was a good day!"** Both dragon and toad shifted to see Yuri and Genjou stroll towards them; **"What's up you old farts!"** That earned the vixen a dry glare; **"What? I'm not wrong."**

" **Appears Manda has fled, as usual."** The wolf chief rolled his eyes at his vulpine comrade's antics. **"Been a long time Genryu, Gamabunta."**

A grunt came from the toad; **"Glad to see you didn't lose your manners while hanging around this vixen."**

" **Coming from an old drunkard I don't feel that insulted."** Yuri murmured with a cheeky tone

" **WHAT YOU CALL ME?! YOU WANT ME TO MAKE A PELT OUT OF YOU RUNT!"**

Genryu only let out grumble with a wary sigh. Yeah this felt like old times for the silver scaled dragon.

* * *

 **XxX ~ moments prior ~ XxX**

* * *

Orochimaru only chuckled as he dodged several strikes from his former Sensei's staff; "My you gotten a step slow haven't you?"

The Sandaime said nothing as he continued his assault. He spun Enma with great dexterity over his head; the staff grew several feet in length as it moved to strike in a sweeping motion. Orochimaru smirked as he contorted his body, doing some very snake like movements to duck underneath the attack.

Hiruzen reached into his pouch and threw several kunai at him. The snake sannin with just two handsigns covered his chakra into wind and blew a gust strong enough that stopped them in their tracks, it was then he saw the paper bombs strapped to them burning.

He jumped away, shielding his face from the blast. His instincts screamed danger and Orochimaru saw Hiruzen jumping through the smoke, Enma's staff form having grown at least twice its width. With a cry, the Sandaime slammed down his staff, but Orochimaru was faster and managed to literally slide away, his lower body merging into a snake like tail, the staff cracked the roof with its pressure.

But Hiruzen wasn't done, his staff slimmed down almost instantly, used it to propel itself towards his former student. He launched a series of kicks towards Orochimaru, he despite being pushed back by the sudden attack managed to block them with swift defensive movements, shielding himself from the strikes with his forearms. Hiruzen spun in midair, twirling his staff and sending and upper strike with connected with Orochimaru's chin, sending the snake flying back.

With a roll the traitorous sannin quickly had gotten to his feet. Despite his bravado the former Konoha Nin no longer felt his control over Daisuke and Tobirama. Along with that took notice how the tide had begun to shift within the village. Konoha and Kiri were now pushing back against the invaders and gaining ground.

They were losing.

"Are you still searching for immortality?"

Brought out of his thoughts Orochimaru cocked his head to his former teacher; "You already know the answer to that sensei. Oh I should show you how far I have come."

Reaching to his face, Sarutobi's and Enma's single eye on the staff widen as Orochimaru ripped off the skin. Both felt their blood running cold as now the visage of a child staring back at them.

A soft chuckle soon became crazed laughter; "Oh the look on you faces! Hahahaha!"

"You complete it," Hiruzen said whispered in dreaded.

Hiruzen tightened his fist. He should have taken out Orochimaru a long time ago, when he first saw the horrible things he had done to those poor children. He cursed his heart for still seeing, partly, Orochimaru as that talented little boy he had taken in as a student long ago...

" **Hiruzen, drop whatever feelings that might linger in your heart for this boy. He is far too gone to be brought back. And now with this perversion of life, his soul is no longer human. But a corrupted and tainted demon."** Enma addressed his old friend/comrade sternly.

"Immortality is ever closer to my grasp" The child's lips twisted into a demented smile before Orochimaru ripped the skin off once more, revealing his true face. "But it is still not enough..."

Resignation grew in Hiruzen's eyes; "And it will never be enough."

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

A huff came from Saito as he and Mei observed Kiri and Konoha forces being hilariously outclassed and decimated by the reanimated Shodai. "This is a rather humbling experience. Don't you agree Mei-dono?"

The auburn haired kage lightly chuckled; "One thing I can say about this village is that it's never dull." She cocked a brow of Kushina and Jiraiya with Samenosuke had leaped over beside her and Saito. "Welcome... Think we can try to take turns? See who gets their backside handed to them worse?"

A snorted laugh came from the Uzu woman. She was really starting to like this lady.

"I have a seal ready, we took down the Nidaime; now let's get our Shodai some rest eh?" Jiraiya stuck his thumb over towards Hashirama who easily caught a female ANBU's surprise attack and threw her their way.

Kushina caught her via a golden chain which was taken noticeably the late Senju; "Young lady, would you be as kind as to use those on me please!?" He asked with desperation in his voice

"A little eager for it huh Shodai-sama?" Kushina couldn't help but smirk teasingly. "I wonder if you like Uzumaki woman using their chains on you."

At those words, Hashirama paled and horror etched on his face. "Oh gods, Mito actually told you?!"

What followed were the most uncomfortable five silent seconds in the history of ever.

"...You forget you heard that" The First Hokage commanded.

"I can't..!" Kushina was nearly sobbing, now unable to get out the image of Mito-baachan being into... stuff, out of her mind. Saito and Samenosuke were not doing well either as both were both slightly green.

Mei dryly glared at Jiraiya who was writing furiously on a notebook. "I heard you were pervert, but I gave you the benefit of the doubt... Not anymore."

"I have to correct you young lady," Jiraiya retorted quite seriously. "I am not a pervert... I am a SUPER PERVERT!" His voice echoed throughout the area.

Again what followed was a very uncomfortable silence for five seconds.

Hashirama's shoulders slumped as an aura of depression loomed over him; "I see the weirdos have gotten worse in the village."

"Look who's talking! I don't want to hear it from you dattebane!" Kushina screeched.

"Just seal me already!"

"Fine, fine, geez!" Her chains shot forward, only to be deflected by thick trees which emerged from the roof.

"I feel like I should remind you that my body won't make it easy if I can see you attack me!"

"Give me a break; it's been a long day!" The Uzumaki woman angrily responded. She channeled her wind chakra through her chains; these began spinning while wrapped under a sharp coat of turbulent winds. They dug through the trees like drills and headed right for the Hokage.

But Hashirama saw it coming, so his body jumped, evading the chains. He leaped through the trees he had summoned, going straight for the group. They tensed but did not move.

"What are doing?! Move!" If they didn't move he'd hurt them!

When he was just a mere feet away from them, his body froze. A seal shined right underneath his feet, and threads of pure chakra wrapped themselves around him. Kushina wasted no time and reinforced the effect by wrapping her chains around him. The first Hokage looked down at the seal; they must have set it up when his view had been blocked by the trees. He smiled widely at them. "Clever kids!"

A round of large collective sigh came from everyone; "Finally," an ANBU in an eagle mask slouched forward.

An ANBU bowed respectfully to the Shodai; "You can rest now Shodai-sama. We will handle Orochimaru." She winced slightly, holding her side.

Hashirama nodded as he turned his gaze to Kushina; "What about my brother and Daisuke?"

"...sealed," she uttered quietly.

"I am glad. Take care of yourselves and this village, that is all I ask," the first Hokage smiled.

Jiraiya placed the seal tag on Hashirama, causing his entire body to be shrouded on papers as Kushina released her chains. Though still not released, the first Hokage of Konoha was at last in a state where he couldn't not be controlled nor be made to harm anyone.

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

Whatever would have happened between the elderly shinobi and his former student next was stopped as they felt an enormous amount of chakra at the gate of the village! For once in a very long time Orochimaru felt shock. As he and Sandaime saw the dharmapala Acala appear.

"H-How?" The snake Sannin's words were barely a whisper.

' _Chiriku and the Fire monks would be proud Hime-Sama.'_ Hiruzen grinned. Enma only gazed in amazement, to think someone could summon the great Fudō Myō-ō!

So enraptured by the sight Orochimaru barely felt his control over Hashirama had now vanished. But what regained his senses was Manda vanishing from the field. "Well that was awesome!" A frown marred the Sannin's face as he looked back to his sensei.

Beside the elderly kage stood a smirking Kushina, Saito, Samenosuke, the Mizukage, and Jiraiya. Along with them was a dozen Kiri and Konoha Nin with several ANBU. "The Shodai, Nidaime, and our uncle have been freed from you." The steely tone of Saito spoke with an edge as he pointed his sword towards the Leaf traitor; "Your karma has come to make you answer for your crimes."

"It's over, Orochimaru. Suna is gone, your remaining forces are being cut down, and even Manda has left you," Hiruzen spoke coldly. Knowing of the Suna's actions via Inoichi's mental communication.

Golden slit orbs only narrowed, this entire operation had been a spectacular mess. He thought he had planned accordingly to the new developments of Kushina, Kiri and the Mizukage, and those other Uzu along with the Namikaze.

And his so called 'ally' in this had done a poor job in providing him the necessary support and intelligence. Danzo had proven himself to be very unreliable during the entire assault. At least he could take comfort in knowing a viper nestled in Konoha, right underneath their noses, and they had no idea.

Yet that fact could not quell the rage he was feeling. The thought of being defeated by these ingrates... Orochimaru knew he had to bide his time and prepare. The Uzumaki boy would perhaps be beyond his reach, but he'd find another way to find the secrets behind his Shoton techniques and how the bloodline came to be.

But Sasuke... Yes, there was still the chance of claiming him.

Kushina patted and rubbed Hiruzen's shoulder; "You okay Jiji?" Several gapping looks that came from the Mizukage and others. Did this woman really just address the famed 'God of shinobi' an old man?!

Not remotely offended the elderly man huffed in exhaustion "I am getting too old for this..."

 **"If you'd keep up with your training you wouldn't be"** Came Enma's disapproving voice from his staff form.

"Oh I'm sorry" Hiruzen snappily retorted. "But did you forget that, unlike beasts, humans don't get to live for hundreds of years with barely aging?"

"We can, a bit" Samenosuke raised his hand, earning a few glares, mainly from the Hokage. "Sorry..."

The snake sannin couldn't help but sigh at the display. "You lot look like a bunch of clowns when you argue..." Orochimaru humorlessly drawled.

The Uzumaki matron gave the sannin a dark glare, "You know, I should thank you in a way. I got closure I never knew I needed… unfortunately for you, my gratitude is currently overshadowed by this smoldering rage!" Kushina seethed gripping her sword. "You go after my son; you violate the dead by summoning my father, and the Shodai and Nidaime. You attacked Konoha, your former home!"

"If you're trying to bring the notion that I should feel ashamed of my actions this day, you would be disappointed my dear." Orochimaru retorted blankly. "Whatever feelings I once had for this place faded long ago."

That point was gravely clear to Hiruzen by the sheer devastation throughout the village. For his most promising and traitorous student, redemption was beyond him now. "This-"

His words died in his mouth as he and everyone else froze as a crushing tsunami of pure maniacal killer intent washed over the village. Powerful and overwhelming, the four heads of the animal chiefs sharply turned towards the forest. At the village's gate Maiyuri and the others paled, at Jounin HQ Shikaku felt a chill course through his entire being along with Inoichi at his side.

Tayuya and Kidōmaru froze along with their ANBU opponents at the sheer level of maliciousness coming in the direction of the forest. A bead of sweat rolled off Kushina face, she knew this feeling. She had lived with it since she was a little girl. "Naruto…"

First to regain their senses was Orochimaru, who merely glanced to his remaining Sound Four. They nodded obediently and vanished along with him while everyone was preoccupied. While he might not get to watch his old village be turned to ruin, he knew it was assured with Shukaku's awakening.

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

The utterly delighted cry that came from Gaara did not sound like him at all. If not because they had seen the Jinchuuriki shroud himself with layers upon layers of sand, taking on the form of his tenant, they would have doubt that was Gaara at all.

He was always bloodthirsty, but his actions were often methodical, controlled. But he kept losing his cool the more they fought, and now there was no restraint left in him.

A giant claw made of sand swung in a great arm, bringing down dozens of trees on its path. Naruto jumped over the falling devastating, trying to avoid the incoming attack. He created two clones and sent them forth, their Biju chakra enhanced attacks severing the large arm, yet this one merely reformed into a mass of spikes that pierced them immediately.

Yugito was running on all fours, her speed making her into a blur. She deftly dodged a barrage of great sand shruiken sent her as she closed in to Gaara's back. She raised a great ethereal claw and slashed down, yet Gaara's defense only wavered slightly.

Gaara's tail snapped like a whip, sending her flying away. She dug in, her hands and chakra clawed hands to stop her movement, and when she looked up Naruto leapt over Gaara, a crimson Rasengan ready in his hands.

"Yes, yes, that's it, more!" Came Gaara's maniacal cries as Naruto thrusted his attack forth. Yet it was of no use, as shield of sand formed between them, much more durable than any other Gaara had displayed before. His empowered state boosted all parameters, speed, strength, and defense. He had become a living engine of destruction, as well as a nigh impenetrable fortress.

Naruto let out a shout as he kept on his attack, but a tendril of sand formed around the shield and smacked him across the face. His Rasengan fizzled out, and he was sent flying. Only for a large sand claw to extend itself and grab him

"HHHHHRG!" With a grunt of force, the claw slammed the blond Uzumaki directly on the ground, making rocks sprout all around it as the earth was deformed.

"Naruto!" Yugito cried out in concern, leaping to his rescue. She made her entire body spin around as her chakra tail delivered a cutting swath of fire, blasting the sand away, and revealing the red shrouded jinchuuriki. "Are you okay?"

"...No" He groaned out in pain, giving her a very annoyed glare.

"Right, stupid question"

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

"Holy crap guys are you feeling that!?" Kiba exclaimed in disbelief. They were at a relatively safe distance, yet the struggles of the battle could be seen even from there. Trees falling apart, patches of land being ripped open. And most of all the sheer level of chakra on display.

"At this point I can even taste it..." Karin muttered as a nervous bead of sweat trail down her cheek.

Sakura gulped down, feeling her throat becoming dry. "Is... Is this how a fight between jinchuuriki supposed to be?"

"It's insane" Sasuke grunted. Ty Lee shivered beside her brothers at the insane level of malicious chakra flaring in the distance.

"Heh..." A weak laugh caught their attention, and they saw Temari, from her place in the ground next to the still unconscious form of her brother Kankuro, giving them a cocky grin. "Gaara... Gaara will take those two down"

"You're awake?" Haku replied in actual surprise. She should barely be conscious considering the nerve points she hit with her senbon.

"T-There's no way... My brother will let those two idiots kill him" She grunted with strain, yet her voice remained determined.

"There you go again" Sakura said with a frown, "Underestimating people"

Temari's body twitched, fighting against the shutdown nerves, forcing herself to move, she'd even crawl if she had to.

"Moving is ill-advised. Why?" Shino spoke, "Because it's pointless, you cannot do anything in your state"

"I'm... I'm not" The words came out fierce, desperate even. "Letting them... harm Gaara!"

"...You're kidding me" Karin gave her an incredulous look. "You're concerned for your brother?"

"Of course I am!" She cried out, a twitchy arm reached forward on the ground before her, the others made no attempt to stop her. "E-Even if he is like this... he'll always be... my little brother!" Her nails dug into the earth as she dragged herself forward. Logic long eroded; there was only her adrenaline and emotions dictating her actions. "So I'm... I'm going to-!"

A new senbon to her neck send her back to unconsciousness once again.

Haku looked on impassively, her arm outstretched. It slowly fell down as her eyes softened. "Your loyalty to your family is to be praised"

"...Fuck" Kiba said as he looked at the shinobi from Suna, pretty much summing up what everyone was feeling.

Beyond their notice, further away from them, sat Kuroreimei on a tree. Her hime cut hair swaying slightly with the wind along the robes of her kimono. Her red eyes gazed intently at the fight before her.

There fought someone of important interest to her, a potential heir of Rama's Will, and his opponent was someone claimed by despair, someone born in similar circumstances to him, burdened with the same heavy load their entire lives.

Her hand clenched into a fist.

 _'Is it mercy what you will show?'_ She wondered, _'Will you truly extend your hand to him in sympathy and kindness, seeing him as a victim who suffered so much? ...Or will the bodies of your fallen comrades, the sight of your village under siege, be all that appears before your gaze and struck him down in rightful vengeance?'_

She needed an answer, she needed to witness this.

Those who bear Rama's Will are often at the center of it all, their actions influencing the world around them.

Long ago, the great king had given her kind mercy... and now more than ever, did her people need it again.

 _'Please, show me'_ She begged to the gods, to great Shiva in heaven. _'Show me humans are still capable of mercy and kindness'_

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

Gaara grinned down at the two in a surreal maniacal manner. It looked doubly terrifying with his face turning into a mask of Shukaku's face. "Not enough! I want more!"

"I have an idea." Yugito glanced to Naruto as he stood beside her. "And you're not going to like it." The Kumo Kunoichi lifted a brow as the Uzumaki leaded in to her and began to whisper.

Growing impatient for his kill the Suna Jinchurriki shot several sand shuriken down towards the two. Both quickly broke apart as in a quick dash with the blond Kunoichi calling the redhead out.

 _'This is insane'_ Yugito thought to herself as she stood watched Gaara charge at them. Channeling chakra through her legs, Yugito once more assaulted him from all sides.

Gaara let out a growled as he channeled waves of sand on all directions, sending various blasts homing after her in torrents. Yugito merely dodged, she let out a trail of blue fire over the sand as she circled around, partially obscuring his view.

As she kept that cat and mouse game, she thought. _'Hope this works, Naruto'_

The Kyuubi jinchuuriki in question was grinning widely as he surfed through the sand on a flat surface of crystal he had made, Gaara was distracted and his view partially blocked, but the Suna-nin managed to catch a glimpse of his opponent riding his waves of sand.

"What?" With a swipe of his long limbs, he moved sand, and the flames, away. His eyes widened when he saw Naruto charging at him, surfing on his sand of all things. "Gaaaah!" With a thrust of his hand, he sent various waves of sand at him, which Naruto took with ease.

He twirled around and dodged, riding an oncoming wave like it was made of water. He propelled himself by firing a quick wind blast from his hand and tunneled underneath another. Gaara growled in irritation at Naruto's obviously mocking grin, so focused he was on the blonde that he did not notice the Kumo Nin attacking him from behind. He gasped and stumbled forward as a knee pressed itself against his bulbous back.

Naruto took his chance and dived forward, he jumped and twirled in the air before landing and lodging the crystal surface right above Gaara's back, embedding it as deep as he could.

With a roar of pure rage, Gaara sent a burst of sand in all directions, sending his opponents flying away. Naruto and Yugito skidded across the sand in opposite directions. "Is this all you've got?!"

Naruto's response was to smirk and raise a pair of fingers.

The hum of chakra alerted the sand jinchuuriki, he sharply turned his head as much as he could to see the crystal still embedded deep on his back. Before he could even command his sand body to remove it, it shined with seals and exploded in a great flash of light. The blast rose for meters into the air, sending sand flying in all directions, tearing Gaara's sand hide with sheer firepower.

Finally as the blast slowly subsided, two blonds sighed as both huffed in pure exhaustion. Their chakra cloaks had begun to vanish; "That was... The dumbest fucking idea I have ever heard of," Yugito rested her palms on her knees. "And you are without a doubt the craziest son of bitch I have ever met," And that says something, and she knows Killer Bee-sensei!

Naruto plopped himself down on the branch, sitting cross-legged. "If it works then fuck sanity," the Uzumaki breaths heavily. "Hey Gaara!" He called down to his fellow jinchuuriki, who slowly rose through the smoke. His whole transformation had fallen to pieces, and the sand armor was crackling and falling from his body. "You calmed down yet!?"

His response was to send an enraged glare at them. He snarled and took a step forward, only to stumble as his knees gave away and fell over them. He shouted and raged as he crawled, trying to reach them. He needs to make them bleed…

"Yeah, why start now?" Naruto sighed to himself while Yugito shook her head. The two jumped down and slowly walked towards him. "Give it up Gaara, you lost"

Rage shined in Gaara's sea foam green orbs; "I am not done yet! I won't be killed by the likes of either of you! My existence won't fade!" He screamed in almost a horse tone.

Yugito only looked at her fallen fellow Jinchurriki mournfully as Naruto spoke; "We don't want to kill you Gaara. We want to help you, to show you, you don't have to be like that."

Those words only made the Suna Nin growl with pure hate; "Then... Then why did I turn out like this… WHEN YOU TWO DID NOT?!" Both blonds leap back as Gaara's sand surged back to life.

Ever since he was little, all he knew was hate. The world hated him, the closest 'kindness' he had experienced were just lies. Anger driven to strike him down. The entire world wanted nothing more than for him to disappear.

And why wouldn't it? He was a monster; the world had no need for his ilk. Devoid of any joy, he had found purpose in the death of others, inflicting the pain others had brought upon him. That deep void in his heart had been filled at last, not with the 'love' his bastard uncle had lied to him with, but with the blood of those who hated and denied him. It was the only thing that could bring him joy… but he always needed more and more.

So why? Why, why, why, why, why?! Could those two just smile every day at any nonsense that went their way?! Why were they whole while he was empty?! Why could they express so much happiness when the hole in him just kept growing bigger, regardless of how much blood he shed to fill it?!

Why were they humans to whom other people could smile and laugh with while he was the monster the world wanted dead?

He hated them... He hated them so much.

So if he killed them, perhaps then he could finally prove them wrong. Yes... maybe it was their blood that would finally fill the void for good.

Something inside him snapped, and Gaara began laughing.

He was the monster hated by the world, so he would reveal his true self to all.

Gaara held up his hands in a ram seal, and from that single gesture a wave of dread fell down on Naruto and Yugito.

" _ **Feigning Sleep Technique**_!"

The sand soon erupted skywards soon taking shape and form. A gigantic bulbous body, highly reminiscent of the monstrous form Gaara had taken, manifested. Dark marks appeared all over its sandy surface. The being was so great it rose far beyond the tree line.

Both Naruto and Yugito looked in sheer horror as an awaken Shukaku let out a shrilling roar. **"I'M OUT BABY!"** The monster-size sand Tanuki laughed manically.

Sakura looked wide eyed at the giant sand tanuki which rose over the tree line. "So uh... that can't be good"

Karin could only shudder at the sheer magnitude and enraged chakra which emanated from... from that thing. While the bijuu inside Naruto was a primal force of hatred and anger, the Shukaku felt like insanity and carnage incarnate.

"So hey..." Yugito gulps. "Please tell me you have something?"

"Luckily, I do" Oh thank the gods and his mother for signing the dragon contract. He had never summoned a big one so far, but hey, first time for anything.

The great tanuki roared. **"I'M GOING TO CRUSH YOU ALL!"** Rearing his arm back, he brought it down upon them with great force.

"Move!" They barely got out of the way when the arm came down. But they were still caught in the shock wave which managed to send them flying away.

The ground trembled and the earth split, making large chunks of earth and stone rise from the fractured ground, creating small hills and blowing clouds of dust and sand. The vibrations of the impact went far beyond their location, making the earth shudder.

Shukaku sharply surveyed the area after his punch; **"I can smell you Kurama and you too Matatabi! Come out so I can kill you already!"**

Naruto and Yugito hid behind the trees; "Anytime you're ready," the Kumo Kunoichi whispered. She blinked as she saw Naruto bit his thumbs; "I don't think another summon is gonna cut it…" Right now the blond Uzumaki was mentally praying.

 _'Anyone listening out there! Please give me some help here!'_ he goes through the hand seals; " _Kuchiyose no Jutsu_ _ **!**_ "

The great One Tail was surprised to see a large plume of smoke come out from between the woods. Trees fell down, toppled over by the new massive body that made it present.

A long serpentine figure moved from within the smoke, only a dark silhouette could be seen from within. The smoke slowly cleared out, revealing patches of bronze. A long reptilian snout emerged from the smoke, bronze in color like the rest of its body. The dragon rumbled as it raised its head to reveal a long pair of horns of two azure eyes, and Naruto, who stood at the top of the head. Beside him, Yugito let out a breath she did not realize she was holding.

" **Hmph!** " The great beast exhaled smoke through the nostrils. " **The Ichibi no Shukaku** " The dragon spoke in a clearly female voice. " **I never thought I'd be summoned to face you** "

Naruto giggled as he felt something sneaking inside his clothes, Hien emerged from his collar to look down at the giant dragon and wave with his small claw. "Hi princess Kamiko"

" **Hein** ," Her azure eyes shifted up seeing Kushina's son and the little ruby dragon in question, with another human also on her head. " **You are Naruto** ," she got a nod from the Uzumaki; " **I am Kamiko, Genryu's daughter**."

Shukaku looked wide eyed before laughing; **"That silver scaled bastard actually had a brat!?"**

" **What in the name of Ryujin-sama are you doing out here Hein?** " Kamiko scolded lightly.

"I wanted to help Naruto, Konoha is in danger!"

She sets her eyes on the bijuu before her. " **If he is here than I have no doubt about it** " The she-dragon regally raised her head and spoke in a commanding tone. " **You have one chance to withdraw, Shukaku of the Sand, I will not make you the same generous offer again** "

" **Bwahahahaha**!" That actually got the tanuki to laugh. " **Awww man, you're killing me with that**!" He grinned savagely **. "I'm gonna turn this whole village into a smoking crater!"**

" **Hmph, no wonder the animal clans despise your kind,** _ **bijuu**_ " She said the last word in an accusing tone.

"So" Naruto prompted, looking down at the dragon. "Think you can help me with him?"

" **I shall aid you child** ," relief washed over Naruto, Yugito, and Hein hearing that. " **But I also need you and the host Nibi no Nekomata to do something**."

Yugito looked at the bronze dragon in surprise; "You know I'm carrying Nibi?"

" **I can smell her scent coming off you, human. Now look at the top of Shukaku's head**." Both did as she asked and saw the tiny form of Gaara, from the waist up slumped over asleep; " **While Shukaku's host remains sleeping, it leaves the Bijuu to roam free. You have to wake that boy so Shukaku becomes dormant again**."

 **"HA! Like hell I'm going back there after I just got out!"** the sand Tanuki snarled; **"Let's see if you can actually have the stones like your old man!"**

"Yugi-chan!" Naruto shouted out. "We'll keep him busy, you try reaching Gaara!"

"Count on it!" Yugito tried channeling more chakra from Matatabi, and immediately regretted it as her body doubled over with pain, her tenketsu burn with the strain. "Ggh! Shit..!" She swore as she held unto her stomach.

" **You used too much of my chakra"** Matatabi warned her. **"For now, you won't be able to channel the same amount you did before"**

Painfully standing back up, Yugito as she held her stomach with one hand; "It will have to do." She gave a concerned Naruto a wink before leaping off Kamiko's head. "GO GET''EM!"

"Let's go!" Naruto cheered with a brave smile and thrust of his fist. "Kamiko-chan!"

 _ **'Kamiko-chan**_?' The dragoness briefly wondered at the informal attitude the boy took with her. Paying it no mind, she roared and soared straight towards the sand tanuki.

Shukaku cackled maniacally as he swiped on his arms at her, Kamiko managed to dodge the strike, to which she countered by going right for his throat. But Shukaku's body was composed of sand, her fangs just sunk into the substance without doing any real damage. Shukaku grabbed her serpentine body with hands, spreading sand over her form and entrapping her.

Kamiko trashed and roared, trying to break free, but the Ichibi's sand possessed a strong hold to it as is solidified around her body. Twisting her long neck, she took a deep breath, smoke puffed out from her nostrils as heat rose through her lungs and throat. She let out a great raging storm of flames over his arm.

The arm charred and turned into a solid burning glass, Shukaku screamed when the dragon shook herself free, her movements were strong enough to tear the limb off. It falls to the ground with a crush and crumbled away. By the time it regenerated, the dragon was already moving around him.

 **"RAAAAH!** " Shukaku defended himself by growing sharp spikes of sand all over his back and shoulders, stopping the dragon from trying to capture him in a hold with her body.

" **Tch**!" Kamiko grimaced. " **I can't get us much closer, child. I'll have to attack from a distance** "

"That's fine" Naruto said "Just keep him busy"

" **No problem** " Channeling fire once more, she breathed down her wrath upon the bijuu.

Shukaku quickly formed a great dome of Sand around him, which managed to resist the flames. The sand solidified and charred, but Shukaku pushed it at the front of his shield, supported by the rest of his sand, making a good defense against the torrents of fire.

Kamiko maneuvered through the air, continuing to rain down fire upon the bijuu. Shukaku merely raised his shield to meet the flames accordingly. As they soared, Naruto managed to spot Yugito climbing up the Ichibi's body.

 _'When I get back home'_ the Nibi jinchuuriki grunted as she walked over the bulbous sand body, _'I'm taking a vacation'_

 **"Huh?"** The One Tail felt something climbing up his body. Looking down, he saw that annoying cat runt going straight for his head. **"Oh, no you don't!"**

The Ichibi forced the sand in his shield to explode outwards, sending giant chunks of stone and solidified stone through the air at the dragon. Kamiko dodged as much as she could, but her mobility was hampered the moment one of the rocks hit her body, followed by another one, then another.

She fell to the ground when Shukaku's arms extended, latching onto her tail and slamming her down. They watched in horror as Shukaku turned his head down at Yugito and took a deep breath, channeling wind and chakra through his mouth.

"He's gonna kill her!" Naruto cried out. Thinking quickly, he channeled Kurama's chakra and formed a Rasengan, pouring as much power as he could into it. The outer layer of the technique took a strong vermillion color. But... "Damn it, I can't get there in time!"

" **Get in my mouth**!" Kamiko shouted. " **I'll spit you**!"

"...What?!"

" **Just do it!** "

The Uzumaki winced with a disgusted look, but did as he was told. He nearly regretted it he felt the moisture of her maw, along with the foul smell. "Ugh, what did you eat?!"

 **"See you in hell Matatabi! But don't worry, I'll soon send Kurama there too in pieces!"** Shukaku cackled as he breathed in more air for his attack.

Kamiko reared back taking a breath before launching the blonde jinchuuriki from her mouth. Naruto traveled at such high speed that he felt the air would peal the skin from his flesh. Yet he endured, keeping his blazing Rasengan steady as he neared his target.

" _ **SHUI RASENGAN**_!"

The blond Uzumaki roared as he hit his signature jutsu right at Shukaku's face. Torrents of sand and chakra spiraled in potent waves all around the young ninja as his attack buried deeper into the Bijuu's cheek

Shukaku's mouth turned to the side enough so that his wind blast was fired off away from its original trajectory. Yugito held tightly unto his sandy body as the wind teared through the trees in the forest like a typhoon, leaving a clean patch of earth on its path.

Naruto's Rasengan soon ran out of power, and the blonde Uzumaki found himself falling. "Hien! Wake him up!" He told the dragon on his shirt as he kept falling before managing to latch unto Shukaku's body.

"Yes!" The small young red dragon said as he flew at the top of the Bijuu's head, soon finding himself right in front of Gaara's sleeping. "I have to wake him up... Ohhhh what can I do?" He desperately searched for an answer. When no ideas came to mind, he decided to trust what his instincts told him to do in most situations.

"NOM!" He reached forward and bit Gaara in the nose.

The redhead's eyes snapped open as he let out a blood-curling cry of pain.

Shukaku's body soon froze as he let out shrill; **"BUT I JUST WOKE UP DAMN IT!"** Soon his body became normal sand as it fell down to the ground like water. Gaara, Naruto, and Yugito soon fell as well as they all landed into the sand in large splashes. Hein flew downwards to his summoner.

Kamiko slowly rose; ' _ **So this is the strength of Kushina's child**_...'

Yes... She could see the strength her father had spoken to her about. It was there, still very young, but possessed a great spirit that would temper it with the years, taking him to heights the boy himself wasn't aware he could reach. She smiled, knowing the spirit of Uzu was alive and well.

She moved closer to blonde. " **Do you require my aid further**?"

Naruto slowly rose up from the sand and shook his head. "Nah, it's okay. We'll take it from here" He looked over his shoulder and gave her a smile of gratitude. "Thank you"

" **It was my honor** " Her duty fulfilled, she return back to their land in a plume of smoke.

The jinchuuriki of the Nine Tails sighed; he shared a look with Yugito who smiled at him, giving him a thumbs up. They turned towards Gaara, who was breathing heavily and held a hand to his bleeding nose.

Naruto slowly approached him.

Gaara's eyes darted towards him in panic. "N-No! Stay away from me!" Never before had his voice been filled with so much fear. He didn't understand it very well, this fear in his heart, but he didn't fear Naruto for what he could do to him physically. He couldn't quite put it into words.

Kuroreimei stood up from the branch; this was the moment she had been waiting for. To see if her instincts were right about this boy.

"Being alone..." Naruto began his tone full of sympathy and understanding. "It's hell. To have the world look at you and make you feel you don't matter, that you're a cursed thing that shouldn't even exist" His gaze dropped, painful memories flooding back to his mind. "The way they look at you, with those eyes filled with so much hate..."

"STAY AWAY!" Yugito could see tears in Gaara's eyes. How so afraid he was.

Naruto kept walking as he spoke; "And it hurts, it hurts so much you want to scream at them. You want to hurt them back for hurting you so much" He soon sat cross-legged in front of his fellow Jinchurriki as he looked to the ground, Hein now resting on his shoulder. "You keep asking yourself, 'What did I do wrong?'... For a long while I hated everyone, this village, but all that changed... Thanks to one person showing me kindness."

The imagines of pain were replaced by Hiruzen's wizened smiling visage, Iruka-sensei's scarred face. More faces kept appearing; Kakashi, Sakura, Haku, Sasuke, Hinata, Yugito, his mother, so many more wonderful friends, all of them were smiling at him.

"I held on to it, striving to be better so I could keep those precious people close to me. Before I knew it, more and more people became my friends, they made things so much better... They gave my life meaning" He reached forward to touch Gaara's hand.

"D-Don't touch-!" He gasped as he felt the blonde's fingers intertwining with his. They were... so warm.

"Because of that..." Blue eyes met green. "I won't let you fall down that darkness, not when I know what it's like to be in that hell" He tightened his grip on Gaara's hand, as if pulling him out from a dark abyss.

Gaara found himself welcoming this feeling, this... light that seemed to emanate from Naruto, and he was slowly being pulled towards it. He felt something that made his heart throb, it was... joy, pain, sadness, relief and... hope all mixed into one. It hurt so much that tears fell down his eyes, but he held unto that feeling, because it made the hole in him smaller.

"So I promise you, you too can get out of that darkness" Naruto remembered his grandfather's words. He stood here, placing everything he believes in on the line, regardless of how horrible things were. Though not for him, but for Gaara, as he understood the turmoil his fellow jinchuuriki was going through.

So he smiled at him, it was such a wonderful gesture that made Gaara cry all the more at the sheer beauty of it... He couldn't remember the last time someone had smiled at him like that.

"So I'll be your friend..." The Uzumaki couldn't stop the tears streaming down his cheeks as he smiled brightly at Gaara, closing his eyes and showing all his teeth. "Gaara!"

Kuroreimei's mouth trembled as she let out shallow gasps of breath. That smile...

* * *

 **XxX ~ a long time ago ~ XxX**

* * *

 _She remembered a great city, a place of harmony and peace. Though those days were threatened, the whole world was being thrown upside down; terror was in everyone's hearts._

 _She had been but a child, too small to understand, but enough to know something bad was happening. Her parents were afraid, her elders were afraid, and so she too, young and eyes full of wonder for the world as she was, was afraid of what might happen._

 _And then he came, shining like the sun, a man whose power was only rivaled by valorous his spirit. Vibrant red hair flowing with the wind, red eyes closed while he showed her all his teeth in a wide beaming smile full of kindness._

 _"Hey, don't worry" His voice was warmth like a gently breeze. It carried a strength and wisdom that not even the most wise elders of the clan, nor their strongest warriors, could ever hope to match "Everything will be fine, I promise"_

 _And she had believed him_.

* * *

 **XxX ~ present ~ XxX**

* * *

Kuro held a hand to her mouth, shocked at the spirit this boy displayed. That kindness and compassion one can have, even for one's enemies... There was no doubt about it anymore, Naruto had inherited _it_.

She gathered herself and turned to leave, she had found her answer at last...

Gaara could only look at him with wide eyes, Naruto's compassion was... a wonderful feeling he could not describe. It was as if... he was touching gold by holding his hand.

"Friends..." With that, his eyes closed. Feeling more at peace that he had in years.

Naruto watched as Gaara slowly turned himself over to look up at the sky. He no longer saw anger nor hate in the Suna Nin's eyes as he gazed quietly. Sighing, Naruto fell back lying on the sand as Hein now flew around him, trying to fan him a large leaf he had found; "This was one hell of a day," he muttered as he saw the form of Yugito standing over him grinning. "Sup..."

"Sup," she giggled as she soon sat down beside him, gods she was tired, and Naruto didn't look any better either. "Well we get the joy of hospital rest." She heard Naruto groan loudly at that; "Not a fan either eh? Bee-Sensei and I are the same."

"Think I'm gonna sleep for a week after today..."

"I hear you"

"Naruto!" The shouts of his friends made him turn his gaze; they ran towards him, concern and relief written all over their faces.

Sakura immediately knelt next to him, looking over his injuries. "Are you okay?"

Hinata soon joined the rosette. "Y-You had us all so worried"

Haku said nothing as she looked over Naruto and Yugito. Karin only felt relief in her heart whipping away a stray tear.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed at the redhead jinchuuriki before looking at his teammate. "What about him?"

"It's cool" He grinned widely. "We sorted things out"

Gaara said nothing, he only closed his eyes.

The rookies from Konoha couldn't help but sigh at that. "Only you, Naruto" The pinkette said, voice full of pride and affection.

"I-It's not surprising" Hinata blushed as she gave a shy smile. "You always bring out the best in people, Naruto-kun"

The blonde Uzumaki rubbed his head in embarrassment. "Who me? Naaaaaw"

The mood was suddenly broken when a red blur passed by and grabbed Naruto. Kushina had appeared out of nowhere and was now hugging her son tightly. "Oh thank the gods you're okay" She showered his head with kisses, much to his mortification.

"Mooooom! Not in front of everyone..."

All the while, Gaara merely looked up to the sky impassively. For the first time in so long, there was no curling cries for blood on his mind. Only gentle calm, and the rustle of leaves on the wind.

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX ~ xx ~ XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

 _ **C-ya soon!**_


	34. Catching our breath

**Disclaimer:** We do not own Naruto

 **Co-Author and Beta** : Etheral-23

 **Arch** : " _ **Well you 'Shoton' fans are in for a treat. You will be having four chapters instead of the standard two coming out. You guys will be getting four! Hope you like**_."

 **Chapter 34: Catching our breath**

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX ~ xx ~ XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

If there was one place Naruto hated the most, it had to be the hospital. To be told he had to stay put, do nothing for days at the time, being served that disgusting food instead of the ramen he loved so much. Naruto was not particularly religious, but he considered waiting on a hospital bed and counting time he had to remain there to be akin to hell itself. A place of healing everyone said, pfft, he was certain there was some god up there who deemed this to be his karma for something he must have done in a past life.

But, jiji had been clear; At least one day or two in observation. It wasn't every day you fought a bijū and the most you had were multiple light wounds (they were more severe at first; thank the gods for his Biju's accelerated healing). Any other day he might have gone insane.

"Your move" Came the bored droning voice of a certain Nara.

"What?" The very much surprised and confused glasses wearing Uzumaki girl replied as she looked at the shogi table in disbelief. "When... how did you...?"

"We told you Shikamaru was good" Came Sakura's teasing voice.

But today, he had good company to pass the time with.

Oh the room was crowded, something the nurses had admonished them for. But they had made it very clear they didn't care at all about protocol, after the whole mess that was yesterday, a single room crowded with visitors was actually fairly low in their priorities. They had entire hospital wings where the wounded were still being treated.

It was tight, but the large group managed to accommodate. Not only was his team and cousin present, but also Team 8, 10, and Team Gai. While friendly companions and fellow comrades at first, Sand-Sound Invasion had forged powerful bonds of camaraderie and trust between them. 'Fire-forged friendships' Kakashi-sensei had called them, when your life and that of your people are on the line, bonds like these would be tempered by the shared struggles they faced against their foes, under the heat of the battlefield.

Not exactly how Naruto liked making friends, but he wouldn't deny he felt closer to lots of these people then he had ever felt before.

"You need another pillow?" His mother asked worriedly, sitting at the edge of his bed. "Should I call the nurse? Morphine, do you need morphine? Nurse, nurse!" She clicked the button that would call on the nurse, in her worry she didn't realize it was the TV control, which was currently switching between a cooking show, an anime, and later a romcom movie. "My son needs drugs!"

Kiba deadpanned from his place against the wall next to the door. "Not an expert, but I think not giving your kid drugs is Parenting 101"

"Come now, Kushina-sama" Kakashi cheerfully called from his spot the window frame. "We can all see Naruto is fine"

"If he's anything like me I know he's acting tough!" They all sweatdropped at the doe eyed teary expression on her face. "My son must be in so much pain!"

"Am I even here?" Naruto wondered to Chouji. "It's like everything I tell her goes into one ear and escapes the other... Ahhh shit, now I know why my teachers in the Academy got so mad at me"

The Akamichi nodded and quipped; "Pretty much."

"Give it a rest Naruto" Sakura gave him a knowing smile. "Moms get like that; you wouldn't know how my mom gets when I just catch a cold... Though mine doesn't threaten to harm the doctors"

Ino deadpanned and shivered recalling not her mother, but her dad's antics whenever she caught a cold. "You just learn to get used to it Naruto."

"Who gets used to this?" Sasuke drawled thumbing to the overactive redhead beside her son. The Uchiha sat near Karin and Shikamaru observing their game with Shino doing the same.

"You'd be surprised what you can get used to," A snort came from Tenten who sat with her bandaged teammate Neji. Both sat by the Lee's bed who some by divine twist Naruto shared. "I work with these two nut cases plus Gai-Sensei."

The doctor said it was a miracle Lee's body was not too severely damaged thanks to the use of the eight inner gates. However his body was still badly hurt that required the boy to remain in the hospital for several weeks. Along with no missions or training for least a month.

Of course explaining to an (Obsessive) Taijutsu enthusiast he can't train, well that went over as well as attempting to tell an Uzumaki they can't have ramen for a year...

Neji gave his female teammate an indignant glare; "I take offense to that."

"I agree; that was quite hurtful Tenten." Lee also responded despite everyone dryly gazing at his reinforced restraints holding him down on the bed. Never mind the thick bandages over most of his body.

Tenten only rolled her eyes at the two with a snort that came from Naruto as he was handed a bag of chips from Chouji who sat on the blond's bed. Praise the young Akamichi for sneaking in 'real' food for Naruto munches on!

"Sorry it's not a cup of ramen Naruto." Chouji spoke apologetically to the blond who simply waved it off.

"Hey I'll take anything over whatever they call food here."

Kakashi weakly chuckled; "It's not that bad."

"Did you even see the food they give the patients, Kakashi-Sensei?" Shikamaru questioned dryly not taking his eyes off the shogi board.

"…Well it's nowhere near as bad as it was when I was kid." The copy-ninja weakly admitted.

Kushina cringed sticking out her tongue beside her son; "Don't even ask how bad it was when I was little."

Holding Akamaru, Hinata sat with Sakura and Ino, the shy heiress rubbed the little puppy's ear much to his delight while peering at the blond Uzumaki; "S-Still, you fought a Bijuu Naruto-kun, are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm alright; anything to serious the grouch in my gut handles that." Naruto pointed to his stomach. Honestly a part of him was still surprised how the others reacted upon learning or being told by him that he was their village's Jinchurriki. He would have been lying to say he wasn't terrified, but overall nothing had changed one bit.

 **"You owe this 'grouch' your life"** Kurama's voice gruffly echoed in his mind, he sounded... moodier than usual. This was saying something. **"Make no mistake, whelp; we will have words about this... arrangement of ours"**

That sounded ominous...

"Well, I guess that damn furball is good for something" Kushina said irritated at the thought of giving the Biju that nearly killed her child any kind of gratitude.

" **It's a shame you can't hear me calling you a** _ **bitch**_ **"** the fox replied, once more inside his head with none being all the wiser but him.

Well, back to his usual mood now.

"I'm just glad you made it out alright;" Kakashi eye-smiled as he continued; "Challenging a Bijuu is no small matter."

"I had a lot of help" The blonde Uzumaki acknowledged. "I don't think I would have made it out otherwise"

"Oh yeah, you summoned a giant ass dragon. That was so awesome!" Kiba gushed excitedly.

"Wow, for real?" Ino blinked rapidly, balking at the information while petting Akamaru.

"Yep!" Naruto grinned, feeling rather proud of himself. "Said she was Kamiko, the chief Genryu's daughter"

"Ohhhh I haven't seen her in so long!" Kushina grinned as the memories flooded back. "She was the size of a house last time I saw her. Hehe; must have gotten pretty big now" Her smile became softer. "Uzumaki and dragons fighting side by side against a big threat, as it should be" Her voice was wistful with nostalgia, "Like the family we are. Heh, rather literally in this case"

"Huh?" Naruto cocked his head in confusion.

"Oh yeah, Kamiko is like your cousin uhhh twice removed I think"

Karin looked up from her game along with Shikamaru, giving her aunt a flat gaze, "What?"

"Yeah Genryu is my grand uncle"

"...What?" The flat question was echoed by many of the younger generation there.

"Well he is my grandmother's brother. Half-brother if you wanna be technical"

"WHAT?!"

The silver-haired ninja deadpanned at the owlish looking redhead; "Didn't I explain that before?" Kushina questioned.

"No you didn't!" all the young teens chorused.

"Hmm, oh well. Now you know!" The former ANBU captain chirped happily. "Short version the Uzumaki and Eastern Dragon Clan do have bonds by bloodlines. Basically we're one big family 'ttebane!"

 _'AND WE'RE LEARNING THIS NOW!?'_ Naruto and Karin mentally bellowed in their heads before both groaned out a long sigh. Ugh! They both would deal with that later as they shook off the initial shock; "How is everything going around the village?" Karin changed the subject for everyone's sanity.

"Well, thanks to our new alliance with Kiri the clean up around the village is moving fast," Kakashi answered as he peered out the window. "I heard the Sandaime has enlisted reconstruction aid from several places, including Nami no Kuni." Team 7 sharply turned their gaze towards their sensei who eye-smiled back at the three; "Guess Tazuna is returning the favor. Even heard Inari will be coming."

"Surprised he is sober enough to do anything." Sasuke chided recalling the cheeky elderly drunkard.

"That's cool, feel like forever since I've seen those two." Naruto grinned as he bit into a chip.

"I know right?" Sakura commented. "Like, it's only been a few months but it feels like years"

"The Land of Wave" Neji, who had not been there quite for some time, spoke with a thoughtful look to him. "I heard this where your first real mission was"

"It was" The pinkette confirmed with a short nod. "Man it was harrowing but... in a way I'm grateful. Really showed me what I was in for"

"It shaped your path then"

"I guess you could call it" A teasing grin formed on her lips as she winked at him, "'Fate'" She said with a giggle.

The words were not an insult hurled at him, regardless of his heated rants at her during their fight, how he would call her nothing but cannon fodder, a civilian born, a fake ninja... And yet this civilian born had beaten him, she had played to his strength and taken advantage of his weaknesses, like a true ninja. What truly baffled him was how she could just stand here, talk to him like that as thought nothing had happened, as though he hadn't insulted her pride.

Lady Hinata... she was as always kind beyond measure, something he had seen as a weakness, but now came to see as a formidable trait. He honestly did not expect anyone else to treat him with such kindness, not after the way he acted like an insolent cur.

His defeat at her hands... he had won more that day then he could have ever imagined. As he was being treated, and his uncle came by to tell him the full story of his father's death, no... His sacrifice.

Ashamed, more broken than he had ever seen him, Hiashi bowed to him. At the failure of having been unable to change the Hyuuga, at having been unable to save his father.

Fate... his father had chosen his fate. Such as Haruno had choose to carry on the life as a ninja, that was the fate they were offered, the one they had taken despite it all.

Neji wanted to convey his gratitude to the Haruno but for once he lacked the words to express himself. All he could do was cast shameful gazes as he tried to swallow whatever pride he had left.

Unbeknownst to the Hyuuga, Sakura had noticed his not so subtle glances towards her every so often. The rosette couldn't really read his brief gazes towards her; she was rather unsure what was on Neji's mind. She did feel a bit nervous when seeing those penetrating eyes staring at her, but shook it off and kept conversing with Ino and Hinata.

She was not the only one who noticed Neji's actions as Tenten felt like face palming. Did getting his backside handed to him make him bashful all of a sudden? Well for one thing she was not going to let this get awkward. "Sakura."

The rosette turned her head at the mention of her name from the weapon mistress; "Yes sempai?"

...Now why couldn't Naruto learn to be this respectful to his seniors? Right, Uzumaki have a very eccentric view on respect. "Neji wants to apologize to you for being an ass." The people in the room stopped what they were doing as they all directed their focus to team Gai. Neji felt his eye twitch while he glared at his Kunoichi teammate; "Don't give me that look. You keep peering over at Sakura's direction, which she noticed by the way. But since she can't read minds she might assume you want to ask her out or something."

The rosette's cheeks nearly matched her hair while Neji chocked on his own saliva with blush on his cheeks; "WHAT!?" Lee nearly screech so loud everyone winced at his volumes. "Do you have feelings for Sakura-chan as well Neji!?"

"NO!" The Hyuuga older teen snapped with a flushed snarl before letting out a huff to calm himself. He turned his gaze over to Sakura; "As my teammate so crassly put it... I do wish to apologize for my behavior Haruno-San. I acted like an uneducated thug towards you and it was uncalled for." He bowed his head towards her; "I am sorry."

The room had become still as everyone turned their eyes to Sakura who looked at Neji owlishly. "Um..." Oh wow, how do you respond to something like that? "I-it's alright Neji-San; I mean all we did was fight."

Neji shook his head as he looked up; "It was more than that. You helped me see more than what I thought was absolute truth. For that I owe you a great deal."

 _'Wow...'_ Naruto, Chouji, and Kiba blinked at hearing that. Who'd thought Neji getting his ass kicked by Sakura would have had this affect.

Said rosette only blushed at Neji's sincerity towards her.

Wow, getting praised like this was really something she was unused to. Sakura didn't really know what to say, but it felt... good, really good, that she had changed a life for the better.

"Oh my" The very cat-like grin on Kushina's face gave the pinkette a really bad feeling, "Sounds to me someone has gotten pretty interested in you~"

Cue two sputtered and bashful looks from both young genin at the insinuation, followed by the shared laughter of everyone else in the room. Sakura shot Ino a glare the moment she saw that glint in her eye, "Don't you dare..."

As the mirth continued, Tenten and Lee smiled with great joy at seeing that all the bitterness and anger Neji had carried with him for so long had been taken off his shoulders. He looked like someone who had been born again, like he had been blind, and now he could see the color of the sky and its endless possibilities.

And they owed it all to her.

Team Gai had sworn from that moment forth, that Team 7 was their treasured companions whom they would fight with through anything, come hell or high water.

Hinata smiled tenderly at the sight, feeling beyond happy and relieved that things had come to pass like these. Naruto, Sakura, they had a strength she admired greatly, and felt blessed just by being able to witness the wonderful things they were capable of. Strength she lacked...

No, if all she did was mope and feel saddened at her own weakness, then she couldn't advance. She too had her pride, small as it was, she would one day stand shoulder to shoulder with these people, her teammates, her peers, her comrades and friends, as a fellow Leaf ninja.

The grin Kiba shared with her and the ever subtle nod from Shino told her she wasn't alone in this regard.

"Tch, so troublesome" The smile on his face betrayed Shikamaru's words.

"My, my" The amused and regal voice of womanly youth was heard, all eyes turned to the door and widened upon seeing the princess standing there with a soft smile on her lips. She wore a pink kimono with a flowery design, along with sandals over white socks. It was impressive how on the battlefield she looked like a born warrior and with a quick change of clothing she fit right in with the high society.

"Hime-sama!" Kakashi immediately leapt from his seat on the window and bowed dutifully. The genin all did the same, scrambling to look presentable before their princess. "You honor us with your visit!"

"Oh hey, nice to see you again!" Naruto waved at her cheerfully, "I heard you were pretty awesome during the battle, wish I could have-UGH!" The rough hand of his mother quickly shoved him over his mattress.

"Bow, you idiot!" She hissed. Even she had enough sense to show proper etiquette to their nation's royalty.

"Really, it's quite alright," Maiyuri waved a dismissive hand while sweat dropping; "Um... Kushina-Dono I think you might have hurt your son."

The redhead blinked before shrieking as she just realized she had thrown her son off the bed and onto the floor. Having literally forgotten her own etiquette she had quickly put her son back into bed and put the covers over him. "I'msorryI'msorryI'msorry!" She spoke in such a panicked hurried tone it might as well been squirrel talk. This followed by the redhead dashing from one side of her son's bed to the other in a speedy blur going from emotionally back and forth from frantic to maternal crying in seconds.

All watched the spectacle with a pronounced sweatdrop, and Naruto attempting to calm his mother down. Assuring her he was alright. Kakashi only deadpanned while Kushina wailed she was bad mother; "And how is your day Maiyuri-hime?" He queried weakly while Naruto, Karin, and Sakura were trying calm down the Uzu woman with Ino and Hinata's assist.

Sasuke only rubbed his eyes; ' _How my mother put with this woman is beyond me._ '

"I'm...Well" The princess responded slowly; "I just came to see Naruto-san and thank him for stopping the Shukaku." She deadpanned as Kushina was given a tissue which she blew her nose loudly while whipping her tears _. 'I honestly assumed the rumors of Kushina-dono being a bit 'touched' was hearsay...'_

She cleared her throat and gave the blonde Uzumaki a grateful look, "All of you have done your duty in protecting the village, and you showed great courage and strength in the face of overwhelming odds. It was my privilege to have fought alongside you" To their surprise, the princess gave them a court bow. It wasn't often a person of such status would give a gesture like that to her own subjects.

"Um, you know" Naruto scratched the back of his head a bit embarrassed. "Just did what I had to do"

"And you did so without killing Gaara" Maiyuri noted, "In fact, from what I was told, he's acting strangely cooperative and calm compared to his... previous outbursts"

"Really?" He asked, with a nod of confirmation he let out a relieved sigh. "I'm glad he's okay"

Maiyuri tilted her head, raising an eyebrow elegantly. "Most people would not be so forgiving considering the circumstances"

"Yeah well" The Jinchuuriki shrugged, "I heard what his village did to him, and... it wasn't right, it didn't sit well by me at all, having to kill him. All things considered I got lucky and he... I just couldn't" His voice was heavy. Kushina placed a comforting hand on her son's shoulder while the others gave him an understanding look.

"I see" Maiyuri merely responded, "The monks taught me that there is strength in forgiveness. The true measure of wisdom is knowing when to exercise mercy. Some would say that you took a huge risk at the expense of your village's safety"

Naruto flinched at those words.

"As for myself, I believe that was a difficult choice, but in the end you made the correct one"

A smile of relief and gratefulness grew on the young blond's lips. He was happy to know his nation's princess approved of his action not to kill Gaara.

"So how are you all feeling?" Maiyuri questioned as she gazed at all the young genin; "Yesterday was perhaps the closest thing to a war you all have experienced." Hopefully the last one as far she was concerned, but she needed to know how these young shinobi prospects handled the ordeal.

Sasuke was first to responded with a shrug; "The village was in danger, as ninja it's our duty to protect it and its people." If the princess was worried about them killing people he knew that wasn't going to be a problem for him.

"If I can be blunt," the Yamanaka heiress rubbed her arms as her eyes gazed at the ground. "I was completely terrified." A shiver coursed through Ino's body as she held her arms. "One minute we were watching the chunin exams, then the whole village was in chaos. Everything felt like a blur; from fighting someone who wanted to kill you, to watching giant snakes devour people right in front of you... I never had been so scared in my entire life..."

What she wouldn't tell their country's princess, nor the others was how when Ino got home she threw up in the bathroom. Had cried her eyes out being held by her mother who was doing the same. Ino knew she had killed at least few people, but knew it was to push out the invaders and protect her home and people she loved.

She also was not about to mention the nightmare when sleep finally claimed her last night.

Both Sakura and Hinata comforted their friend with Akamaru cutely whimpering at her. "My little sister was at my side when it started in the arena." Hinata bit her lip; "She refused leaving my or father's side when we got home. She slept in my bed with me... She cried herself to sleep..."

The princess shook her head, "To have seen such bloodshed at her age, she's just a child... you're all children..." She muttered the last part so low, yet so filled with bitterness that only those with much superior hearing could make it out.

The look of outrage in her eyes as she stared at nothing in particular was particularly worrisome, that did not go unnoticed by the others.

"Hime-sama?" Kakashi tentatively called.

She blinked rapidly, snapping out of her thoughts. "Ah, my apologies. I have a lot in my mind" She excused herself, "My father is due to arrive, and we are still waiting for Land of Wind's response to Suna's actions. Their attack was a clear violation to our treaties, if the situation isn't resolved with their daimyo then things will become... problematic"

Kushina's back straightened out as she stared at the princess, "You think it could mean war?"

"Think war already happened..." Karin muttered.

"You don't get it" Kakashi said, a concerned look evident in his sole visible eye. "The princess doesn't mean between war just between Suna and Konoha, but between the entirety of the armies of Fire and Wind"

Shikamaru's eyes widened, "Wait, the actual standing armies? But they haven't waged war in... A century."

He sounded scared, for reasons that eluded Naruto. "It'd be a bigger war?"

"MUCH bigger" Kushina gravely nodded. "Back in the Clan Wars era, ninjas were being hired to act as pre-emptive forces to stop conflicts, or win wars before they started. This reduced the number of open wars between the nations dramatically. When the villages were founded, we pretty much replaced the need for the daimyo's to pin their armies against each other"

"You know that the Land of Steel managed to remain neutral for so long, for a reason" Kakashi continued, "Thousands of trained samurai can pose as much a threat as an army of ninjas. And the sheer size of the capital's standing armies dwarves a hidden village's able bodied ninjas by a wide margin. Warriors who can fight head on against ninja, along with entire regiments of archers, spearmen, cavalry, all sorts of siege engines. And worst of all, by the conditions the daimyos imposed on their shinobi villages, only their armies are legally allowed to bring gunpowder based weaponry to the field; Canons and firearms"

Back when the villages first received sponsorship by their nation's lord and had sworn loyalty to them, the rulers of the Gogyou-koku, the Elemental Nations, feared their ninja would grow too powerful and would eventually try to overthrow them. For that, they placed heavy restrictions on the ninja village. Firearms and common gunpowder based weapons would be illegal for ninja to wield, and if shinobi was found violating the law, then the nation in question would bring the full might of their power to bear to make sure the ninja wouldn't repeat the same mistake.

Of course, that had only driven ninja to work around the law and develop new and creative weapons that while not as efficient as a firearm, in the hands of a skilled user they would be far more devastating. In their careers, Kakashi and Kushina had seen all manner of weapons and engines of war. Kunai and bomb launchers, repeating machine guns that fired countless shruiken tagged with explosives, blasting seals that could unleash all sorts of terrible effects. That wasn't even going into the terrifying creations that were some weapons like the Seven Swords of the Mist.

Perhaps most infamous of all, was the greatest deterrent the shinobi had devised, the Jinchuuriki...

"The nations don't want to fight openly again like in the old days" Maiyuri assured them, already seeing the great concern in their faces. "They'd rather just let the ninja be the instruments that will further their agendas. But this war economy creates a cycle where only through conflict can profit be made, as we saw with Suna, their treasuries were emptying at an alarming rate while we kept filling ours with the money their own daimyo provided by hiring Konoha... This is no way for a country to subsist"

Not if she had something to say about it…

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

Karin let out a dismissive snort as upon reaching home, her blond cousin plopped face first down on the couch in the living room. Apparently just two days in the hospital can drive some people crazy. Everyone had soon scattered upon Naruto's release save Neji and Tenten who remained with Lee.

To keep an eye on him...

Aunt Kushina and Hatake had to resume their work around the village. Uncle Saito and Same, along with Lyn and her girlfriend were lending a hand as well with whatever they could do. Soujiro was... somewhere around the village. This just left her staying by her cousin.

"Figured the first place you'd want to go to was Ichiraku." The bifocal redhead jested strolling into the kitchen.

"Do that in a bit, just wanted to get back home." As much as the demonic beast that was in his gut was howling at him; he just wanted to be back in his family's house. Hospitals had just a dreary blank atmosphere to them, he needed to be home and get the feeling of that place out of him.

 **"You got something more pressing to do before dosing off brat."** Kurama's chimed in just as his host relaxed for a moment.

 _'...You're right._ ' Naruto grunted as he sat up just as Karin came back with a glass of water for both of them. "I'm going to talk with furball for a bit about something." He took his glass from her as she sat down beside him.

Karin's brow rose; "Are you trying to say I shouldn't be keeping an eye on you in case you do something stupid?"

A deadpan squint came from the Jinchurriki; "You would know where I would be going the moment I tried leaving the house." He shook his head; "Go hang out with Sakura-chan, maybe Ino and Hinata are with her."

"Hmm...Alright." Karin spoke slowly as she drank her water and put her glass back in the kitchen. "But any funny business I'll know."

Naruto waved it off with a grin which Karin returned before reaching the door. She didn't really want to go out, but if her cousin insisted he was alright she'd have faith in him. As the door opened and closed, Naruto closed his eyes and opened them to find himself in front of Kurama's cage.

The Kyuubi's glowing eyes lit brightly his in dark prison; **"We have some matters to discuss."**

Count of the fox to get straight to the point...

"Okay, you wanted to talk" Naruto crossed his arms, given the fox an impatient look. "Talk"

 **"Do not give me any lip, you brat"** The great foxed softly snarled in annoyance. **"Do not forget, you are alive because of me"**

"Funny, mom keeps telling me how you almost killed me as a baby"

 **"Your mother might be strong, but she is foolish and shortsighted. Whatever grievances we have, it's in everyone's benefits that the both of us remain alive"** Naruto got the feeling that if Kurama could reach closer, his great eyes would be hovering right in front of him **. "And you keep ignoring the fact that when you were way in over your head, I was there to pull you out of the fire"**

Naruto's gaze shifted, finding no comeback to that. It's true, were it not for Kurama's power, then he wasn't sure how well he would have fared against Gaara. The two weren't like Yugito and Matatabi, their relationship was the complete opposite.

 **"I believe I deserve some... compensation. As well as my promise of being more... agreeable with you in the future should you need my power again"**

The offer was, well, too good to pass up. If he could cooperate with Kurama, if they weren't at each other's throats, then he'd be much better prepared next time someone like Orochimaru came for him.

After a short moment of deliberation, Naruto asked, "What do you want?"

 **"To taste some freedom"**

"...Yeah" Naruto said after a moment, drawling. "How about 'no'?" He was about to leave, had Kurama's furious snarls not stopped him.

 **"You imbecile, I did not tell you to remove the seal. All I asked was for some freedom beyond this cage!"**

"Uh-huh" The Jinchuuriki was not convinced. "And how do you expect me to do that without breaking the seal?"

 **"It does not have to be all of me that is outside"** The fox hinted, to which Naruto tilted his head in confusion. **"Let a bit, just a small tiny bit, of my chakra pass through your network, allow it to manifest through your body into the outside world, and I shall construct a small manifestation of my greater being, a sort of clone if you will"**

"A clone..." Naruto repeated, trying of the potential consequences. "How much chakra are we talking about here?"

 **"Very small by my standards. Just enough for a tiny summoned creature, my manifestation will be no larger than a cub"**

Well, that ruled out the fox being able to hurt anyone, but there was something else he needed to know. "And if I say yes, what would that clone of yours do while outside?"

Kurama almost sounded... wistful. **"Walk through long fields of grass, sleep under the shadow of a tree, taste the things that had been taken from me, the sort your kind take for granted"**

Naruto shook his head; "That's all you want?"

 **"I have been stuck inside three hairless insane monkeys for literally over a hundred years. Even immortals can go stir crazy too you know..."** Kurama huffed; **"Just want to feel the outside world again more than anything else. And yes that does mean more than thrashing this village into a crater."**

That earned a fox a deadpan from his host before he got serious; "Before I agree to anything can I ask something?" He knew all he might get was silence, but least he could try; "Who is Yasaka?" The very moment he uttered that name everything shook as he saw Kurama's entire body gave a red hue glow as he growled. There was so much anger coming off him, but Naruto pressed for one more question; "Were you with the fox clan?"

 **"...I will say this only once. Yasaka is none of your business and we will never speak of her again."** By Kurama's tone he broke no argument on that matter. Naruto gave a quick nod; **"As for the fox clan... They had a disagreement on my views of killing the truly wicked."**

Wait... killing the wicked?

"You went after bad guys?"

 **"Our moral compass as you humans call it is closer than you think, Naruto."**

Oh... He seriously doubted that. Wanting to level a village full of innocent people was a glaring reason.

Kurama let out an annoyed grunt, **"My past with the fox clan is irrelevant here. I've made my intentions clear; we both stand to gain from this. Now"** A long claw slipped past the gate bars, stopping a few feet before the blonde. **"Do we have a deal?"**

Naruto breathed out through his nostrils, crossing his arms as his eyes closed, pondering his choice. "Fine" He finally answered and Kurama grinned widely. "But the moment I hear you're causing trouble, I'm gonna make sure my mom triples the seal strength if need be"

The fox did not even hesitate, **"Deal"**

Wow, he might actually be serious about this.

Naruto stepped forth and placed a hand on the claw, awkwardly shaking it due to the height difference, yet the result was the same. The pact was made.

"Now what?"

 **"Do not force the chakra back"** Kurama said, if Naruto didn't know any better, he could almost swear the fox was giddy. **"I'll do all the work"**

Naruto's eyes snapped open, and he was suddenly on his home again. Just as the fox said, he felt a tinge of his chakra course through his body. The blonde did not fight it, and just let it flow naturally.

It gathered on his shoulder, where it suddenly split off from his body, a small burst of smoke manifested, and Naruto felt a suddenly light weight. It did not last long for it jumped down his shoulder to the floor.

Blue eyes met red in a silence so deep one could drown in it.

 **"What?"** Kurama's rough voice barked in annoyance.

"Oh, my, gods..." Naruto couldn't stop the grin from tugging at his lips, "You're just so... cuuuuute!"

Sitting on his hunches and being about the size of a normal red cub fox with a single tail that swayed about. A deadpan glaring twitch came from the kitsune; **"I am not cute..."** He growled through his teeth as his eye glowed.

But that did not seem to sway the blond as he gushed picking up the fox, much to Kurama's surprise. "Why can't you be in this form all the time? You look so adorable!" Hugging the now glowingly annoyed Bijuu.

 _ **'Did this brat take anything after that fool of a father of his?'**_ Kurama mentally groaned before biting Naruto's hand as he attempted to pet him on the head. The fox leapt out of the blond's arms and back onto the floor who lightly screamed in pain. **"Now listen to me brat!"** The Bijuu snarled; **"I am not some kind of pet, you got it!"**

Naruto winced as he held his hand which quickly healed. "Did you seriously have to bite me?!"

 **"Would you have listened if I politely asked you to let me go?!"** The two glared at one another.

"Well if I knew you'd still be an asshole then I wouldn't have picked you up in the first!"

 **"Why would you assume that?! You shouldn't judge things on their looks!"**

"I wasn't-! Grrrrrr, oh just go run through the fields" Naruto looked away in indignation. "Chase butterflies or whatever it is you wanted to do, I don't care!" When he turned his gaze back to the fox... or rather where the fox used to be. The blonde then noticed the open window. "Oh, left already... Man I hope that asshole doesn't get me into trouble"

 **"I can still hear you, you know"** Kurama's voice drawled into his mind. **"I haven't actually left, that's just a small piece of me"**

"Figures" Naruto drawled, "You're like bad weed, you never go away"

 **"Whatever, just shut up and let me sleep"** The fox grumbled, **"If I concentrate I can just transfer all of my consciousness to that clone of me, so don't bother me unless it's an emergency!"**

With that, the fox felt silent, and Naruto felt his presence retreat to the depths of the seal. The jinchuuriki sighed to himself, "Hope his mood improves a bit at least"

Ugh, he was already getting a bad feeling from this. Maybe he'd go with Karin to meet up with the others; he needed a distraction from this...

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

Karin's eyes were solemn as she strolled through the village. Her eyes took in the damage done by Suna and her former village of Otogakure. Cleaning all the debris was likely going to take weeks, reconstruction maybe a couple of months.

She was glad though they prioritized taking all the bodies first before anything else. The number of civilians and ninja lost were at least wasn't in the triple digits. The atmosphere of the village was quiet but busy. People were trying to get on with their lives, though for some it might be harder than others.

Maybe things could have been even worse had she not switched sides and told the Sandaime what she had known. Even if it wasn't much it got Konoha more alert didn't it? Karin hoped at the very least.

"Karin-chan!" The voice of Ino called out behind the redhead which made her turn around. She blinked as Sakura and the Yamanaka heiress came towards her; "Needed a break from our favorite knucklehead?"

"He had stuff to do" She said, leaving it at that. No reason to get the girls worked up about whatever it was Naruto wanted to speak to his Biju about. "What are you girls doing?"

"Well, we wanted to clear our heads" Ino beamed, "So we decided to do some shopping!"

"Again?" Karin drawled, "I think you went shopping three times last month, you're going to empty your pockets soon enough"

"That would be true for most people. But, you know, heir to a clan, so rich" The Yamanaka said rather smugly.

"Must be nice" The pinkette deadpanned, not all jealous. Really. "Wanna come with? Make sure her father doesn't disown her from spending all of the family's money"

Ino, choosing to ignore that comment, eagerly grabbed Karin's arms. "We can find more cute stuff for you!"

"Have you forgotten I'm still on probation? I have no money to speak of because I'm don't have a job. I'm literally living by my aunt's good graces"

"Doesn't Kushina-sensei give you an allowance anyway?" Sakura pointed out.

Truth was she did, but Karin was grasping at straws to avoid going on another shopping spree lead by the beast that hungered fresh clothes, otherwise known as Ino.

Not that she had anything against Ino, she really liked the Yamanaka. Kind, always looked after her friends, acted like the big sister among their group of friends. But she also had the energy and enthusiasm that could rival her crazy blond cousin!

Especially when it came to three subjects; boys, clothes, and gossip. And it was nigh impossible to stop Ino when she starts going.

Thus why Karin was being dragged by the blond girl towards one the open stores. "When we can ambush him. we need to get Naruto some new clothes." Ino stated with a smile.

"Naruto gets his clothes from Tenten's shop." The rosette mentioned as she followed. "Think they look nice."

The Yamanaka waved it off with her free hand; "I don't want to bad mouth Tenten-sempai's clothes at her shop or what she wears, but they are _really_ bland..."

"Yeah, I don't think ninjas should really go for the 'look at me!' type of outfits" The glasses wearing girl deadpanned.

"Have you seen a ninja that actually wore full on dark traditional outfits all the time?" Ino dryly asked. "In fact, I don't think any type of ninja does so unless they are using camouflage, we are supposed to blend in with the crowd most of the time"

"Okay you're right on that first point" Karin was forced to admit, "But I hardly call what you, or a lot of ninjas for that matter, wear as something that 'blends in'"

"You just gotta look the part" Ino grinned, tugged at Karin's arm. "Now let's get you something nice!"

It was then that Karin felt her cousin's chakra closing in, she had resigned to her fate, but it was not too late to save him. Naruto turned around the corner, wearing a simple pair of shorts and an orange jacket over a white shirt, and waved cheerfully at the girls.

"Run Naruto, Ino wants to go shopping for clothes!"

Dread appeared all over his face, and turned to make a run for it, yet Ino somehow, defying the laws of nature, seemed to just reach over his neck and grab him by the collar (never mind there were quite a few meters of distance between them...). He made a sad sound as he was dragged over the ground by the Yamanaka.

"I tolerated that tracksuit of yours for years, now I'm going to rectify that"

"But I don't even wear that any-"

"Let it go Naruto" Sakura said, both with sympathy and resignation in her voice. "You can't win this fight"

"Need to get you to another spectrum of color to wear other than orange!"

"Orange is awesome!" Naruto spoke defiantly despite still being dragged by his fellow blond. "And I don't wear that much anymore, and they're not that bad!"

Well, that was true Sakura could admit. The orange he does wear now these days was of the dark burnt variety. Nowhere near as appalling as the tracksuit, gods your retinas felt like they were burnt just by glancing at that abomination of attire.

Ino however would have none of it; "We are getting you some new colors Naruto! It has already been decided. Both you and Karin-chan need more style; your mom has better style than you for heaven's sake!"

 _'Because anything just looks good on Kushina-Sensei,'_ the rosette of the group mentally retorted with slight jealousy. Yes, she was a young adolescent and was still growing. But Look at Haku, fifteen and she could resemble a princess from those fairy tales! Sakura hoped she would as beautiful as either of them in a few years! She shook her head and came to a stop when something caught her gaze. "Soujiro-Kun?"

The others stopped chattering and peered back to Sakura and then to where she was looking. Indeed there was the reserved young teen sitting on one of the bench's around in front of the buildings. His calm eyes surveyed the people strolling around the village before he heard his name being called. The young swordsman took note of his two cousins alongside Ino and Sakura coming towards him.

He gave the four a small grin; "Hello."

"So that's where you have been" Karin noted as they approached the ponytailed haired swordsman. "What are you doing?"

"Uncle Samenosuke said I should indulge in a hobby" The teenager merely replied, "I've found that I enjoy watching people go about their day"

"Isn't that something old people do?" Ino muttered to herself.

"I find it quite relaxing" He smiled as he turned to see a man walking his dog. "Isn't it curious to think that when people who enter your line of sight, only to disappear and most likely never see them again, have their own stories to tell? I can only wonder what goes on when you no longer see them"

The small group of four slowly exchanged a series of confused gazes, Naruto shrugged despite himself. Soujiro was... well he was really hard to pin down. Quiet, amazingly so for someone who shared his blood. Insightful, almost scarily so. And most definitely never acted like someone his age should. Half the time neither he nor Karin could understand what he was talking about, which had given how little he spoke...

"That's... neat I guess" Sakura slowly said.

"That man has been by Aunt Kushina's house when we were away" He commented upon spotting a passing by chūnin. "I believe uncle Samenosuke has been sleeping with him"

"Didn't need to know that" Karin quickly informed him.

The young man continued regardless, "That woman over there" He said, nodding towards a young woman in a yellow sundress who sat by a coffee shop table. "She's been here the last three days. From her expression I can tell she doesn't like coffee, but I believe she's interested in the waiter who serves it"

"I dunno man..." Naruto rubbed his neck. "This is sounding like goss-"

Ino was all too fast to sit next to the young swordsman, giving him a manic smile. "Tell me more. Give me ALL the gossip you have"

A trio of deadpans shone on the faces of Naruto, Sakura, and Karin as Ino listened in to what all Soujiro had been observing. Well, could divert them from clothes shopping Naruto hoped.

"Anything coming from outside the village?" The Yamanaka questioned with a bright smile to the reserved Uzumaki.

"Not much, though I did hear the music artist Kyuhoshi has a new album that came out today."

Moment those words left Soujiro's lips Naruto and Karin winced from the high-pitched squeal which erupted from both Sakura and Ino. "Her new album is out!" Both chorused with wide smiled and starry eyes.

"Who's Kyuhoshi?" Naruto regretted asking that as both girls turned their attention towards him like wild predators. Karin paled as her two female friends were now in front of her blond cousin.

"Are you kidding?! Don't you even listen to music? She is the top artist in the nation! She is on par in talent with the actress Koyuki Kazahana!" Sakura waved her arms wildly as she explained.

"Oh I've seem Koyuki's movies, they're awesome" The blonde Uzumaki cheerfully said, even as he slowly backed away from the two who were currently in full fangirl mode.

"Uh, I think acting and singing are two different-" Karin's words went unheard, lost in the sea of turbulent enthusiasm shared by the other two kunoichi.

"Oh we have GOT to buy it!" Sakura exclaimed, displaying the same kind of eagerness for shopping.

"Yes, yes, yes!" Ino was hopping from left foot to right. "Oh we need to find the closest music store right away!"

"There's one right here" The moment Soujiro pointed to his left, the two girls disappeared so fast they might as well have used the shunshin technique.

The Uzumaki trio watched as they stood in front of a store that displayed all sorts of CDs and other promotional music merchandize. On a poster on the window was a beautiful blonde woman with honey-gold eyes and a mischievous grin, holding a mic close to her face while doing a cutesy gesture with her free hand and posing in her strapless white dress.

They giggled excitedly, mumbling incoherent words before disappearing into the store.

The two redheads and the blonde merely watched before Soujiro calmly asked them, "How was your day?"

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

Less than five minutes later did the two kunoichi had come out, both holding their newly purchased CDs and skipped back to the Uzu teens. "Happy now?" Naruto quipped garnering a nod from both girls. "Good."

Ino pleasantly sighed as she sat beside Naruto and Karin on the bench; "Now for clothes and it will be an awesome day." Her fellow blond's head slumped forward with a groan. Karin only patted her cousin's back in equal despair.

Sakura who sat by Soujiro was showing off her new CD to the ponytail teen while talking about the artist. Naruto was half-listening to Ino's gushing about the singer while noticing Karin perked up and turned her head. "What's up?" His question got the others attention.

A deadpan came the glasses wearing redhead; "It's nothing, just sensing uncle Samenosuke being chased around by several females near the hot springs."

 _'...He's really just as bad as Ero-Sennin.'_ Naruto mentally drawled with an eye twitch.

Despite feeling her female ire rise Ino gave Karin an appraised look; "You're a really good sensor." The hot springs were a really long distance away from where they were.

"You have no idea" It was not bragging or smugness with what she said it, but instead she sounded tired. "It's hard to suppress my range. Usually I need to focus, or something really big happening that distracts me. Even if someone suppresses their chakra a lot I'll still find them eventually, unless there are other higher signatures nearby. People who conceal their presence through the use of seals or specific techniques, those I have trouble picking up"

"And right now?" Sakura asked with curiously.

"...I feel nearly everyone here" The red eyed girl retorted, sounding distant. "I can feel the ANBU hiding who are keeping an eye on me; I can feel the Hokage pacing in his office, his grandson sneaking through his things. Uncle Saito is training with Aunt Kushina. Kakashi and... The proctor woman from the second exam? Hmm, their chakras are really close-Oh" She blushed, adjusting her glasses and quickly focusing on something, anything, else. "The people going about their business, every single one of them, even if their inborn chakra is minuscule, I can feel their presence all the same. But most of all, what I feel is the people close. Their chakra, I can... interpret it, everyone's chakra gives a unique signature, something hard to put into words without sounding like you're spouting flowery poetry"

She turned to face each of them. "Naruto feels warm, like a meadow in a sunny day. Sakura is steady, focused, calm, yet can become very loud, like winds against the leaves. Ino feels like a stream, going through so many directions at once, some gentle, some rapid, but they never stop flowing. Soujiro... well, his chakra feel like ridiculously calm, like a cold pond in winter"

"That's... incredible" Sakura remarked in awe alongside Naruto who shared the same look. He knew she was a powerful sensor, but not at that level!

Karin gave an uneased expression; "Honestly it can be bit of a pain."

"How so?" Naruto questioned with a cocked brow; "Sounds pretty cool!"

"Well... I can also be influenced by the person or people, even the environment around me. Recall that one day we went out that one time Sakura and how I was completely calm for most of the day then acted like a hyper nut like Naruto out of nowhere?"

A deadpan glare came from the blond Uzumaki; "I'm not that bad... Anymore." He amended his words from the look he got from Sakura.

Realization came from their Yamanaka friend; "You're an empathic sensor."

"Empathic?" Naruto questioned in confusion. "Like, empathy?"

"It means she can feel other people's emotions"

"Not... exactly. But not wrong either" Karin slowly said, trying to find the right words to properly explain herself. "I'm not feeling what other people feel one hundred percent of the time, unless it's very strong and tied with how their chakra flows. You know how emotions can rise up one's chakra, like anger. But my sensory reaches so deep into the wavelengths of people's chakra that it causes a sort of... resonance that makes my chakra behave in a similar way"

"An empathic backlash" Ino muttered to herself, looking rather analytical over this piece of information as she placed one hand to her chin. Sakura knew her friend was smart, but it was the first time she's seen her so intrigued by a certain subject. It probably had to do with her clan's specialties and how Karin's abilities edged towards that territory. "So, the behavior of chakra around you can influence how your mood behaves"

Karin sighed, "It's gotten better since coming to Konoha, and there is something about this place..." She softly spoke as she looked up to the Hokage monument. "It's... so peaceful, the chakra here flows very gently"

Being around her family who love her unconditionally had also been a world of good for her. Sanity was a bit debatable though; "Can honestly say felt it had been a longtime since I could finally think clearly."

"So being around Orochimaru must have been worse for you." Sakura murmured quietly with a wince.

"The man is completely twisted, that is a fact." The redheaded young teen stated; "But I assisted him because I was inspired by his passion and drive for knowledge. Say what you will about him, and a lot of it is right. But there is no denying he is a genius scientist. Albeit a very twisted and evil one." Despite everything she did learn the way and drive of seeking knowledge from him, good or bad, she knows in her heart she is a scientist thanks to the traitorous Sannin.

But she refused to become a monster like he did.

Why she took such dangerous leap of faith and switched sides to the Leaf village. Karin was just grateful her open honesty with the Hokage proved her sincerity and let her seek asylum. Because she was truly terrified of what she might have become had she remained with Orochimaru.

"It was a good thing he choose to send me here" She muttered, "I don't wanna think about what that man would have turned me into"

"Don't say things like that" Sakura softly admonished her, "You did the right thing by going to the Hokage, and Orochimaru isn't your master anymore. You were pretty brave by leaving him"

Karin was honestly not convinced, "I don't know about that. Meeting you, having this village's chakra reassure me, those were the things that allowed me to actually move away from him"

"You believe you have no agency of your own" It was Soujiro who replied, it wasn't a question, but a statement. Once more showing that insightful nature of him.

The spectacled girl could only nod as she sighed dejectedly, "Pretty much"

"Okay that's bullshit" Naruto frowned, "I don't believe for a second you are not in control of your own life"

Karin smiled at that while getting a warm arm rub from Ino; "Given what my clan can do with minds believe me I understand. If you need help with it, or just talk I'm here okay." Her words kind, and full of understanding.

The redhead gave a nod, these were really good people. It took a blink as her head shot upwards and eyes went towards the Konoha gate. "What is it?" Sakura asked with some concern.

"...Someone is coming towards the village." Her eyes grew in size; "Scratch that, a lot of people are making their way here."

Instinct kicked in with Naruto with a crystal kunai forming in his palm. "Hostile?" They had enough bad guys trying to killing everyone days ago. But his cousin shook her head.

"They don't approach like the type that are about to strike, they'd be sneaking in otherwise... But I think the Hokage is going to be very busy"

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

Kotetsu and Izumo both gawked in their guard booth at the sight of armored Samurai with their nation's insignia on their gear marched in procession with a large, quite regal looking carriage following drawn by several horses.

"Um... Is the Daimyo early?" Kotetsu asked weakly beside his longtime comrade.

Izumo only dryly stared back at his friend.

There had to be at least twenty samurai, their white Yoroi decorated with red accents, their Kabuto helmets didn't have many decorations, and they wore face masks which depicted the wicked fanged smile of a demon. Most of them carried swords, while other members of the regiment were armed with spears and bows. No doubt, these warriors were the elite guard of the nation; only a fool would dare attack them.

As they neared the entrance they stopped, two youths walking towards their post. One male and a female. The male was tall; he had an angular face with a defined jawline. Long dark locks with various bangs over his face which ended at white tips. He wore armor in the form of red shoulder pads and a chest plate, along with forearm and shin guards, with a sleeveless white haori that was elegantly decorated with wavy accents.

The young woman bore a cheerful smile. Her hair was snow white, except for long bangs of black in the front and sides of her face which reached the tips. She wore multiple layered shoulder pads, along with elegantly designed chest armor, her legs were protected by thin armor plates over long black stocks connected to her high heeled shoes. Underneath the armor she wore a white tunic with very long sleeves, which became an open waist coat with multiple coattails, the interior of the tunic revealing to be red rather than white.

The male youth joined his hands together and bowed curtly. "Miharu Katsumi" He introduced himself.

"And Namika Katsumi!" The young woman followed, in a much more upbeat tone than (what they believed to be) her brother.

"We are the bodyguards of Maiyuri-hime" He continued. "Akiha-sama requests you inform the lord Hokage he has arrived"

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

When Kotetsu had arrived all frantic, informing him that the daimyo had arrived, Hiruzen was quick to have everything prepared. His office was neatly organized, proper refreshments were quickly brought, and made sure every little detail of the room looked tidy and clean.

That was just step one, step two was quickly recalling as many high ranking shinobi as possible to stand in formation before the Hokage building. Right now around 40 of them were dutifully waiting, while many ANBU lay hidden, watching for any potential threat.

Jiraiya stood at his side along with Kushina, while the princess stood at his left, waiting for the daimyo and his entourage to arrive.

"My father wouldn't care for such a reception" Maiyuri said with humor in her voice. "He knows the village is very busy"

"Your father is the lord of this nation" The Hokage merely replied, "So to not show proper respect would bring shame upon us as his subjects"

As much as the princess wanted to retort she knew the elderly shinobi was correct. She recalled vividly the lessons of her tutors, all the aspects of proper etiquette a highborn such as herself should follow. While tedious she took to all her lessons, least at the best of her ability and patience.

"I haven't seen Akiha-sama in ages. Think the last time you were still a kid Maiyuri-hime." Kushina murmured absently.

The rosette haired princess blinked for a moment as recognition came to her; "It was when your late husband was made Hokage wasn't it?"

Kushina nodded adorned with a sad smile while a whistle came from Jiraiya; "That takes me back. Not sure who was a bigger nervous wreck. Minato for his promotion or Tsunade praying Red here didn't cause a scandal."

At that the redhead's eye twitched with a deadpan; "Which came from a gambling addicted/functional alcoholic mind you." She grumped crossing her arms under her bust.

Maiyuri winced at the biting tone from the former ANBU captain before all turned serious as the procession of Samurai and carriage came near the tower and stopped. As the door opened all formally bowed along with the princess before she paled at the sight of her two personal bodyguards' leaping off the carriage. Both with heated pointed looks towards her that made her want to shrink somewhere. Soon the Daimyo of the Land of Fire stepped out.

Lord Akiha was average in height, dressed in a regal white robe with a sleeveless blue and gold haori. A blue obi kept the haori in place along with his robe. Adorned his head was the headpiece with the fire symbol at it center and tussles hung from its sides. In his mid to late forties, Akiha had a long face with small, circular eyes and dark pupils.

Which were quickly settled upon his daughter. "I see my daughter has been quite the handful for you Hiruzen-dono." She shrunk at her father's tone.

Be they peasantry or royalty, the 'I am disappointed' tone a parent could convey was universal.

Hiruzen softly coughed, diverting the lord's attention. "We are making preparations to meet Suna's delegation in a couple of days. If you would please come to my office, we can discuss all the details"

"Indeed" He conceded with a tip of his head.

The Hokage dutifully lead the daimyo through the Tower, with Jiraiya and Kushina at his side. Maiyuri followed behind her father's steps, accompanied by her two bodyguards. The two were making a poor attempt at whispering their conversation.

"Seriously, just an 'I'll be back soon' note" Miharu hissed reproaching, "I swear, we nearly got our heads cut off"

"I won't apologize for wanting to see my people" Maiyuri firmly replied, "But I am sorry if my actions affected your position"

"It's you we were more worried about that" He sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "You could have told us..."

"Yeah!" Namika grinned widely, "We could have helped you sneak about better!" The brother facepalmed loudly while Maiyuri sheepishly laughed to herself.

Kushina couldn't help but snort, "Well it's nice to see they're more than just her old playmates"

"Oh I'm sure my daughter counts herself blessed to have such friends" The daimyo replied with a soft smile as he held his fan wide before his face. He gave a curious look to the redhead. "Pardon me, Uzumaki-san, but it has been years since I've last saw you. I do believe you were a tad... dead"

The Uzu matriarch sighed, "A long story, my lord. Suffice to say I got lucky"

"Well, it is heartening to see you amongst the ranks of the Leaf once more. Why, I remember all those years ago when the choice for the Fourth Hokage was brought" He fanned himself. "Your accomplishments have always impressed me, but Minato-kun had the right savvy to become the military and political leader of the village"

"Honestly" Kushina shrugged, "I wasn't even mad, Minato was the right choice"

"Oh indeed, everyone thought so" Akiha closed his eyes as his smile widened, "Why, when your name was suggested I remember nearly the whole table laughing for a full minute!"

Hiruzen and Jiraiya sweatdrop along with Maiyuri at the sight of Kushina's head slumped forward. "I wasn't that bad was I?" She murmured weakly in a dower tone.

"As a Jounin and ANBU captain not at all." Akiha cheerfully praised. "However your temper mixed with that... 'Unique' personality of yours would likely cause all-out war as Hokage."

The redhead slumped further with a cloud of gloom over her head. Jiraiya patted her back out of sympathy as they went up the tower stairs.

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

Like outside, the hall of the tower had ninja standing at attention on either side. Asuma and Kakashi stood in front of the Hokage office door. Both kept their professional gazes with Anko and Kurenai at their side doing the same. However the four cocked a brow upon the Daimyo and princess with guards along with their Kage, Jiraiya, and a very depressed looking Kushina.

All the shinobi gave a respectful bow to their nation's leader as Asuma opened the door. Akiha paused with a smile; "Ah! Young Sarutobi, good to see again."

"Likewise Akiha-Sama." After the small greeting the group went into the office as Hiruzen's son shut the door for them. He sighed. "Well this will be a long few days." It reminded him of his Guardian years.

Kakashi nodded beside a perturbed Anko; "ANBU could least have some manners to let a woman have her private fun time." Asuma and Kurenai only deadpan beside a weakly chuckling Hatake.

Inside the office Akiha surveyed the room with an approving nod before seating himself. The rest followed suit save Maiyuri's guards who both stood behind Daimyo and princess. Kushina and Jiraiya also remained stand behind Hiruzen as he sat at his desk. "I must compliment you Sarutobi. The alliance you made with Kirigakure was most timely. It has been a long time since I last spoke with my fellow Daimyo Hiromu-dono"

Hiruzen recalled the water Daimyo as a very cautious man. But thankfully not outright unreasonable; "I hope you two can rekindle your old friendship."

"Indeed, now shall we discuss business? It is my understanding that the pact with Kiri will be similar to our accord with Suna, will it not?"

"Indeed" The Hokage nodded in confirmation. "The Water Daimyo is glad that he finally recovered control of his village, but Kiri is still in the process of rebuilding. By sharing our resources, both financially and with our manpower, to aid in its recovery we have a non-aggression pact. As well as establishing more trade routes. Not only that, but to avoid a repeat of Suna's situation, Mei-dono will discuss with her daimyo about properly regulating a more equal number of mission opportunities between our countries"

"Very good" Akiha nodded in approval as he softly fanned himself. "Now" He held up his hand, and Miharu quickly placed a folder in his grasp. The young black haired and white tipped man bowed as he returned to his post. Setting his fan on his lap, the daimyo skimmed through the folder's contents, his gaze remaining on the picture of Sabaku no Gaara for a moment. "The Suna Jinchuuriki remains under Konoha's custody, good, that will give us a greater leverage for the negotiations"

Kushina wasn't sure if she liked the idea of using the boy her dear Naruto had saved like that, but she had a job to do, she was not allowed to let sympathy dictate her actions.

The daimyo tapped over a particular word that caught his attention. "They still employ that weak seal for easy bijuu deployment" He pursed his lips, "Is the boy still a threat? I shudder to imagine him letting his Tailed Beast out in the middle of the village"

"Kushina and Jiraiya here will reforge his seal" Hiruzen explained, quickly easing the lord's worries. "That will be a non-negotiable issue we will bring up at the meeting. It will work as a proper restraint to the Ichibi. Besides, Naruto-kun managed to talk young Gaara into standing down after his defeat. We are constantly monitoring him, but the boy lacks the sheer killing intent that he displayed so zealously before"

At that, the daimyo looked up surprise, "Truly? Oh my" He set the folder down, "Such strong power in his words for one so young" He grabbed his fan again, unfurling it as he handed one of his daughter's bodyguards the folder back. "You must be proud, Kushina-san, that boy truly is his father's son"

A smile grew on the Uzumaki's lips; "More than I could have ever hoped for Akiha-sama."

"I also hear the young lad had awakened a bloodline limit."

"Yes." Kushina gave a nod; "Shoton. But as far as I could remember this is the first time such thing appeared in the Uzumaki."

Akiha fanned himself as he thought for moment; "Sometime I'd like to speak with your son. Thank him for protecting the village." The redhead gave a nod; "Now, to a more sullied matter. Orochimaru and his Otogakure... It appears the past as come back to haunt us."

"Yes." Hiruzen grimly responded; "Unfortunately the few Oto prisoners we captured have been quite not forthcoming with information of their leader and group. The next interrogation session will be a Yamanaka, and our chief specialist will ensure we know what the traitor is doing."

"I was informed he went so far as to desecrate the Shodai, Nidaime, and even Daisuke's tombs with that unsightly reanimation jutsu." Disgust rang in the Daimyo's voice.

Kushina bit her lip but stayed quiet, Jiraiya spoke up; "We have all three sealed and freeing them so they can rest once more."

"But what worries me the most" The daimyo spoke with severity, "Is that we do not know how often he can use this technique, or what kind of weaknesses we can exploit"

"I've had my research teams look into the Forbidden Scroll to investigate the Edo Tensei" Hiruzen said, "See if they can unearth anything that would give us an edge to neutralize the technique"

"I see" Their lord merely said, sighing. "I guess all we can do now is to wait and prepare"

"Indeed" Hiruzen agreed, "Now, if there are no further matters to attend to, we have prepared your quarters for your stay, Akiha-sama"

"In a moment" The daimyo stood up from his seat, his expression carefully guarded. "I would like for you to leave the room, there is something I'd like to discuss with my daughter privately"

The princess in question shared a worried look with her bodyguards and friends, she knew this lecture was coming and there was nothing she could do about it. But perhaps she could seize this chance, talk to her father about her ideas, how the shinobi system didn't have to continue operating this way anymore.

"Of course my lord" The Hokage and his fellow ninja bowed dutifully as one by one they left the room.

Namika mouthed a silent 'good luck' as she and her brother departed with the rest, the sound of the door closing felt along as the room fell silent.

Maiyuri merely stood before her father, who rubbed his tired eyes and shook his head warily. "Do you have any idea how worried I was?"

The princess bowed her head in remorse, "I am sorry, father"

"The fact that you went so far to sneak out the palace made think that perhaps you should be allowed some time away, but I did not want to draw any more attention to you so I let you think you were successful in your attempt" His stern gaze met her downcast eyes. "But the moment I heard you joined the battle that took place... What were you thinking?!" He pointed his folded fan at her.

"I was trying to protect my people!"

"Your duty is to lead this nation one day" Akiha replied, his voice unflinching. "And yet you risked your life, and... And...!" The anger in his voice died down, replaced with fatherly concerned, "Even if the battle had ended, the mere thought of you getting hurt..."

Maiyuri said nothing.

Ahika sighed to himself, pacing through the room until he stood before the windows, staring out into the village. "I once lost your mother to war; I will not lose you as well"

"...The war that claimed mother's life" The princess spoke, passion rising in her words with every second. "The same kind of war that came to Konoha, the kind the Hidden Villages have been waging for so long, it is a sickness that has plagued our nations for so long" Her father turned back to look at her in surprise, "Father, can't you see? We allow this bloodshed to continue by using the shinobi as we have. We call it peace, but this status quo is nothing but an interval of conflicts that drain our nation's blood. We cannot continue on like this" She swiped her hand through the air in a fierce gesture, determination shining in her green eyes. "I will not let this continue"

The daimyo just gazed at her with confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"I want to change things" She said, placing a hand on her chest, "I want to change the shinobi system, to bring true peace and prosperity to the nations. So we no longer rely on blood money, so we no longer have to send children to become soldiers"

For what felt like a small eternity, the daimyo remained silent. And Maiyuri felt blossoming hope in her heart that her father was seeing the truth of her words, that we was seeing what she had seen. That all this bloodshed was naught but a frau-

"And how do you plan to achieve that?"

She blinked in confusion, taken aback by his question. "Huh?"

"How" He spoke with surprising candor, a great contrast with his usual easy going personality, "are you hoping to achieve this 'ideal' of yours?"

"W-Well" She stammered before her father's piercing eyes. "I would unify the nations; I'd make sure we don't need-"

"And how will this 'unity' of yours work then?" He stepped forward. "How could you possibly make the people who have been fighting for generations listen to you? What can you offer them that they wouldn't take for themselves? Why would they even listen to you in the first place if you have nothing to show for than pretty ideals and dreams?"

Maiyuri remained silent, her firm belief quickly wavering before her father's words. How indeed, her resolution, once strong like steel, felt now weak like brittle iron.

She just wanted everyone to have a better future that perhaps once they saw what they could accomplish by laying down their arms then...

"No, there is only one language the people of the Gogyou-koku understand. If you want your ideals to be taken seriously, then you need the power to make them true" His voice dropped in volume, "And that means war"

"No!" Maiyuri shot back desperately, "That is the opposite of what I want!"

"There was once a man who claimed to fight for unity. His campaign was long and brutal, and eventually all those who once believed him either turned away from his ways, or merely continued following out of fear... That man was Hanzo of Ame"

The princess gasped softly, eyes watering. The thought of her father comparing her vision to what that horrible man had brought...

"You say you want to change things, but you cannot change anything if you aren't willing to fight for it, and that means doing the very thing you want to erase" He shook his head in disappointment.

"But... But..." She willed herself not to cry. "If things don't change then..."

"Things don't need to change" Akiha said, "This system has existed for generations because it works, because it has stopped the nations from delving into a far greater bloodshed than any of the Hidden Villages fighting could bring. The sort of bloodshed you would bring by trying to achieve your desire"

The princess just stood there in silence, her ideals shattered before by the cruel hand of reality.

"Oh Maiyuri" Her father sighed, compassion warming up in his voice once more. "You are too smart to be deluded by such childish notions. I see in you the makings of a great leader, one that will lead this nation properly when the time comes. And for that" He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "You must let go of those silly dreams, they are impossible to achieve... they're just not worth it"

"...Yes, father"

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

Namika winced beside Kushina and Anko who all had their respected ears to the door. "Akiha-Sama is not pulling any punches today." She hissed out a wince.

"Well it is his daughter; any parent would be upset if their child put themselves in danger." Kushina addressed in maternal wisdom.

The snake mistress wasn't so sure; "I'd be proud if my future brats were as half as badass as Maiyuri-hime."

"You do know outside of a silence seal those walls are pretty thin." Kakashi remarked in his usual nonchalant manner. Hiruzen, Jiraiya, Asuma, Kurenai, along with every shinobi in the hall deadpan at the three eccentric young women eavesdropping.

Miharu only groaned rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"So um" Kurenai awkwardly stood by the side, unsure of what to say. "Those are quite the... revolutionary ideas"

"Crazy ideas" Asuma grunted, "Look I'm not going to pretend things are fine, but to change things so drastically... I dunno, feels like inviting conflict"

"Oh like it'd actually be any worse than today" Jiraiya cynically snorted. "I agree with the girl, we've dug ourselves into deep shit for decades now. We need to pull ourselves back out before there's no going back anymore"

"Oh don't you start again Jiraiya" Kushina groaned, folding her arms under her bust. "It's always the same with you. 'We should get peace!', but you never offer any solutions. You had filled poor Minato's head enough already"

The Toad Sage frowned irritably, "What, you don't want the villages stop killing each other? Your son will grow up to see another damn war if this keeps up"

"Sure, but all I only heard from you two were goals, never any ideas on how to reach them" The redhead replied, frustration seeping into her every word. "Not everyone wants peace; people can't just ignore all the bloodshed between them..." She gaze became downcast, "I know I won't ever forgive Kumo and Iwa"

Unlike her late husband Kushina was no peaceful idealist. Nor was she very forgiving, at least when it came to those who destroyed her village and clan for no reason. Nor Kumo on trying to kidnap her. Why at best Kushina 'tolerated' Samui and her team was only because of her son.

"The scars made by Kumogakure and Iwagakure were never forgotten in the capital Kushina-sama." Miharu addressed everyone. "Uzushiogakure was a true friend and ally to the nation. But some have let their anger consume them and want nothing more than to turn both villages into ashes. Do you share their opinion Uzumaki-hime?"

Kushina was taken aback by the young man's words. However she grew silent as she turned gazed at the ground.

"Regardless." Hiruzen spoke up garnering people's attention; "We should focus on what we need to do presently."

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

Seriously do the ANBU enjoy scaring the hell out of him, or was this just payback for the pranks... Oh who was he kidding. Naruto grumbled as he ran up the stairs of the Hokage tower. Not one minute ago was the blond sitting at home, eating ramen before Kuma appeared out of nowhere. Not only scaring the daylights out of him but dropping his bowl! Naruto did not even have time to complain before the towering man grabbed him and brought him to the Hokage tower.

 _'He said it was important but didn't say why...'_ the blond groaned as he neared the last step. _'This karma for that spring trap prank a few years ago?"_

A snort came from Kurama.

It wasn't long before he reached the hallway to the old man's office, and to his surprise Yugao was there waiting. Dressed in full ANBU gear, the purple haired young woman turned her mask wearing visage to him sharply the moment he approached.

"Good, you're here" Without warning, she knelt before him and began stretching and adjusting his clothes, despite his protests. "Stay put, you need to look presentable"

"For what, Yu-?" He stumbled on his words when those dark eye holes in the mask seemed to stare into his soul. "Uhhh, Neko?" Right, no names in public.

"The daimyo has asked to meet you"

Naruto didn't know how, but he was sure he choked on his own breath.

"You're the village's jinchuuriki, so of course he is informed about you and your role in the shinobi corps. But not only that" She tried, fruitlessly, to neat his spiky blonde hair a little, "You managed to defeat Gaara, so he'll want to personally congratulate you"

"Um, ahhh... wow"

Her shoulders sagged, " _Please_ try to be more eloquent when meeting him. Do not use crude language, always use honorifics. Never forget to bow. And thank him for every compliment he gives you, understand?" She added emphasis by holding his shoulders. "This is not Hokage-sama who sees and treats you like his grandson. Understood?" Naruto nodded as Neko patted his cheeks. "Okay." Letting go of him she spun around to stand and knocked on the door. "Naruto Uzumaki is here."

"Enter." Came Hiruzen's voice from behind the door.

His mother's former student opened the door and Naruto walked in. Within the room was his mom, Ero-Sennin standing behind the kage who sat at his desk. On one of the couches was Maiyuri-hime, who appeared solemn but greeted Naruto with a small smile and nod. Behind the couch were two people in armor, siblings by how they resembled each other, but he was guessing. Standing in front of the of Jiji's desk was the man Naruto had seen a picture of back in the academy.

Yugao closed the door as Akiha gave a smile; "Naruto Uzumaki."

The blond froze for a moment before noticing his mom and Hiruzen both mouthed out 'bow!' "D-Daimyo-sama..." His voice shaky as he lowered his head.

"Let me take a good look at you boy" The daimyo good naturedly spoke as he approached the young genin. Naruto stiffly straightened as ruler of the Land of Fire gave him a look over. He did not appear as a stern nor threatening man, quite the contrary, but still this man was their lord after all. As ninja they had sworn loyalty to Konoha, and as such to the daimyo who sat on their nation's throne. This man was the highest authority here, even higher than Jiji.

If the daimyo ordered you to jump, you didn't bother asking 'How high?' you just did it without question.

"My, oh my, you are the spitting image of your father" He spoke with fondness as he fanned himself. "No doubt, the Namikaze blood is strong in you. Ah, no offense to Kushina-san's lineage" Akiha turned with an amused smile at the Uzumaki matriarch

"Well" Kushina sheepishly chuckled, "Guess not all can be redheads"

"But from what I heard" The daimyo turned to young genin once more, who was doing his best to remain quiet unless directly spoken to. "You are very much like your mother in spirit. Quite a prankster as well, oh a troublemaker to the bone"

"Hehehe" Naruto laughed nervously, "Just pranked those who had it coming..."

Hiruzen's eye twitched. He knew for a fact that was NOT true.

"Oh but there is more than mischievousness in that Uzu blood of yours" The daimyo said appreciatively, "There is courage, there is drive, against overwhelming odds. Such as the type you displayed against Sabaku no Gaara" The daimyo gave a small bow; "For stopping your fellow Jinchurriki and the Shukaku I thank you."

Naruto gave a bow in turn; "I wasn't alone, had help stopping him."

"Modest, just like your father"

"T-Thank you" Being compared to his father made his chest swell with pride. "Umm, Daimyo-sama, what will happen to Gaara?"

"That will be a topic of discussion once the Wind Daimyo comes here." Akiha address in a neutral tone as he waved his fan; "But you're wondering of his well-being hmm?" Naruto nodded; "Since you calmed him down days ago he has not shown any signs of aggression. He along with his brother and sister are in a cell in the ANBU HQ. Along with their sensei. At moment though Jiraiya-san and your mother have a job to do on the matter of the boy's seal."

"The idea is to modify his seal" Hiruzen further explained. "So that his Bijuu no longer goes on a rampage when he falls asleep. It's a demand we will hold over the negotiations"

Ahh, that's good. That means mom and Ero-sennin could have a design ready just in case.

He hoped that meant Gaara would be able to sleep from now on.

"Daimyo-sama" The jinchuuriki respectfully spoke. "Can I make a request?"

"Hmm?" The lord gave him a curious look, "Speak"

"I'd like to visit Gaara and talk to him, see how he's doing"

The daimyo pondered for a second, "Doable. Your mother is bound to inspect his seal after this meeting; you can accompany her with my authorization"

Naruto allowed a relieved smile to blossom in his lips; he bowed at the waist as he spoke with sincere gratitude, "Thank you!"

"It's the least I can do" Akiha said while fanning himself. "A question for you, young Naruto. They tell me you want to become Hokage, is that so?"

"Huh?" A bit taken aback by the sudden inquiry, he straightened himself. "Y-Yeah actually"

"Not an easy undertaking" The daimyo smiled jovially, "But, I see a lot of your father in you. If you continue working hard and prove you are worthy of the title, I might consider your name in the future. I'll be following your career with interest"

"O-oh!" NOW he was taken aback. "I'll do my best!" He swore.

To have received such encouragement from the daimyo himself, Naruto doubted many got that privilege.

Although, come to think of it. It's been sometime since he ever entertained the thought of his dream about becoming Hokage. Ever since he got his mom, his family back, he had been so content with his life that his goal had taken a backseat before the sudden and joyous developments. Like, it wasn't as important as it had been in the past.

Huh.

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

Naruto gingerly strolled beside his mother while Yugao walked in front down the hall of the tower leading them to ANBU HQ. "Been a while since I was here." Kushina addressed with a grin. "Besides Iguru, Kuma, and Fox who is still around from my old squad?" The redhead questioned her student as they walked.

"Kame."

Naruto took note of his mother's expression switch in a blink from happy to pure disbelief; "How the hell is that man still alive?" she uttered in pure shock.

Neko glanced to her teacher; "Trust us, we have no idea either."

"Something wrong about this guy?" Naruto brought himself into the conversation with a cocked brow.

"Well… Try to imagine the single most hardheaded person you have ever met." Kushina peered down to her son. "Then amp that up to a hundred, and there you have Kame." She groaned out remembering dealing with the man. "Please gods don't let him be in HQ…"

"He's on surveillance patrol."

"THANK YOU AMATERASU!"

About the only person Naruto could think of was actually Lee. But the thought of someone being more hardheaded than he was... The blond felt a chill crawl down him spine. He shook it off as he eyed his mother; "Been meaning to ask, what was your animal codename in ANBU mom?"

It was like lightning had struck his mother as she froze, being ramrod straight with her cheeks now matching her hair. Both Naruto and Yugao had stopped, but both having different reactions.

Bewilderment from her son with pure amusement danced in her student's eyes. Neko was about to answer till finding herself wrapped in golden chain, her mask literally vanished with her teacher behind her and hand to her mouth.

"We will NEVER speak my codename to anyone. Am. I. Clear?" Yugao and Naruto shivered as a red glow covered Kushina's form with her hair seemingly moving on its own. The purple haired woman nodded finding herself freed from the chains and mask back on. Kushina having returned to her son's side with a sweet smile; "Shall we go?" She hummed as she walked passed them.

Naruto slowly gazed up to Yugao who looked back; "Never mind." Both murmured before following the redhead.

Before nearing one of the many shelves in the hall both Kushina and Yugao stopped which made Naruto do the same. Both knelt to him and sternly made him promise to never tell anyone about this secret entrance. This was apparently one of many to ANBU HQ.

Seeing no one else was there, Kushina pressed a small button hidden in the shelf. In seconds it slide to the side revealing a well-lit cave entrance. His mother explained HQ was based deep inside the mountain with multiple paths, some heavily trapped for intruders. He having been allowed in was only due to the Daimyo's approval since Genin weren't supposed to be in here.

Despite being a cave the place was carved out well, looking like a proper hallway. The torches kept the area as well-lit as possible but not too much for ANBU to stay in the shadows. Coming to a larger intersection Yugao directed them to another hallway which turned into stairs going downwards.

Reaching the final step they came to a large stone door guarded by two ANBU. "Daimyo-Sama has given his approval for Naruto Uzumaki to see the Suna prisoners." Neko addressed in a stern tone. "Kushina-Sensei is also here to inspect Gaara's seal."

Both guards nodded before one opened the door.

Numerous large cells were on both sides of this long hallway as the trio strolled inside. But only one took notice to Naruto as he saw Gaara, his siblings, and sensei dressed in simple linen garbs sat in one cell with two guards.

Baki stood a bit straighter at the trio while Temari and Kankuro gazed at them cautious glares. Gaara who sat in the middle, in an also meditative position focused upon the blond Uzumaki who looked at the two ANBU guard. "Is it alright to be let in?"

The owl masked ANBU shifted his gaze to Yugao; "Ma'am?"

"I'll allow it; just keep a close eye on them if any of them try anything." The two guards nodded as they opened the cell door.

Naruto looked over to his mom; "You talk to them first. I'll look at Gaara's seal after."

"Why do you want to look at my brother's seal?" Temari questioned in a maternal protective tone.

Kushina gave the young teen an even glance; "We intend to fix that seal so the Shukaku won't hassle Gaara every time he closes his eyes. Something Sunagakure will have to accept from now on if they ever want you four back."

So their executions weren't on the table. Well, least here for the moment. Baki took some solace in that, though he was unsure what their Daimyo were likely to have something in store for them because of this.

Kankuro and Temari both were genuinely shocked while Gaara's brow rose. "So your Daimyo does not want our heads?" The Suna Jinchurriki asked as Naruto sat cross legged in front of him.

"Nope;" Naruto answered brightly; "Said he was going to speak with your Daimyo about things. Fixing your seal being a stipulation."

While his older siblings looked at one another Gaara cocked his head; "I see. Why are here though Uzumaki?"

"Friends do pay each other a visit," Naruto coyly spoke with a grin.

The Suna puppeteer gave some false cheer; "Oh that's nice, then be a pal and let us out."

"Kankuro," Baki spoke up; "We should be grateful we are allowed to be alive presently."

The young teen lightly grumbled before noticing Naruto giving him a long look; "What?"

"...You know; you look better with your sister's make-up on."

"Eat a dick, Uzumaki" Kankuro angrily snarled.

The blonde was about to reply, when; "Kankuro, Naruto" The puppeteer froze the moment his younger brother spoke up. "Don't antagonize each other, our situation is bad enough as it is" What surprised those presents was how calmly Gaara had spoken to the, bereft of any murderous intent and threats he carried, even to his own siblings.

After a few seconds of silence, both the Konoha and Sand ninja that had insulted each other turned their gazes and scoffed. "Sorry..." They both said, trying to convey as much sincerity as they could.

Naruto scratched his head before looking at Gaara once more. "So uh..." What he could say in a moment like this, he wondered. "How are you feeling?"

Gaara actually pondered before answering. "Better than what I was. I've been ignoring Shukaku's ranting, this will be easier with the adjustment to the seal. I will be most grateful"

Temari was very grateful for that. For all that Konoha did, helping her little brother like that. These tree huggers were a lot more than people thought them to be.

Naruto beamed at that; "Mom and Ero-Sennin are the best Fūinjutsu masters in the village. Glad they can help ya."

"That woman is your mother," The blond nodded as Gaara looked outside the cell seeing Kushina beside Yugao who waved at them pleasantly; "She is weird." Both Uzumakis face fault at that. A few chuckles came from the ANBU guarding the cell.

"That's mostly all Uzumaki in general..." Baki muttered dryly.

"So, what do you think will happen with your village?" Naruto curiously wondered.

"With fortune, peace may be restored without either side falling into war" The jinchuuriki explained. "The eyes of the other nations will be on us after today, waiting for a change to strike at our weakest" It was a subject that deeply disturbed his teacher and siblings, they worried about what they would do to their village, now in alliance with Kiri, Konoha could very well lay siege on their land if they wished so. Specially after they broke the treaty...

The blonde smiled cheerfully. "Well, don't worry. I'm sure the old man Hokage will stop war from breaking out"

That got him a few strange looks from the others.

"...What the hell is your problem?" Temari whispered, loud enough for the others to hear her.

"Huh?" Naruto blinked in confusion.

"We invaded your land, killed your comrades, and now you're just... hoping our villages stay on good terms?" The concept of someone forgiving them so easily was foreign to her. "Why do you even care?" Why did he care enough to help their younger brother..?

"Because being angry and hateful isn't going to help our villages now is it," Naruto retorts back in a dry tone. "Mom filled me in on why you guys did this, and let me say your daimyo is an asshole. But you guys think this could have helped your own village out?"

Baki spoke up for them; "We were desperate Uzumaki, with missions being outsourced and income dropping, we felt an aggressive action was needed to gain the right people's attention."

"How did that work out?"

The Suna Jounin only looked to the ground; "We lost our Kage, betrayed by our supposed ally and potentially damaged relations with not only the Land of Fire, but our own Daimyo. I had expected the headsman's axe."

Naruto did not know how to reply to that, so instead he focused his attention on the older sand siblings with a judgmental glare. "I want to know this from you two; Gaara said he was alone growing up. Where the hell were you guys? You knew damn well he needed you."

The girl with four pigtails let out a soft breath and rested her head against the wall. "Our father forbid us from interacting directly with him, then we were assigned on the same team when all of us became ninja"

"So?" Naruto didn't like what he heard. "You just went along with everything he said?"

Temari glared at his direction. "As I understand it you weren't raise by a parent, so you don't know how a small child, like we were at the time, must behave. When you're a kid you must always obey your parents, even if you don't like what they're doing you don't have a say in it. You do as you're told because your parent knows best" Every word of her was laced with anger, but Naruto didn't know if it was at him, or at herself. "Particularly when your father is the Kazekage, what he does is for the betterment of the entire village, and you're just supposed to accept it"

Naruto wanted to argue against it, he still thought it was wrong. But the truth was is that he never really ever listened to any adult growing up. He wasn't raised by his mother; he didn't know what it was like to listen to an adult so close to someone. The closest he's had to a family figure in his younger days had been Jiji, but even then Naruto didn't do half of the things he was told, and Jiji didn't raise him directly. So it was hard to blame someone for something they had no control over, particularly when they were little kids. A child doesn't question his parent's authority as he was coming to understand.

It made him wonder for a moment, when his mother was taken to Konoha so she could become the next Jinchuuriki, did she protest. Did they even ask her if she wanted that role? As he turned to see upon his mother's thoughtful face, he got his answer.

"You do what your father tells you" Her voice came barely above a whisper. "Because you have the outmost trust in him, even if you don't want it, even if you're afraid, mainly because you don't fully understand. It's part of your role as a dutiful child"

So he could kind of understand now. As kids, those two didn't have much of a choice.

But... "What about when you grew up? When you became a ninja and finally began making your own choices?"

"By the time that happened" To his surprise, it was Gaara who answered. "I was far too unstable, and they couldn't get close to me without risking their own lives. I did not make things easier"

Temari glared hard at the Kyuubi Jinchurriki; "And even when Gaara was like that, don't ever think I did not keep trying to be there when we became a squad. I love my little brother," her voice held immense conviction.

"I know I was an ass about it, but I am on the same boat with Temari. We love Gaara, even when he threatened us back then," Kankuro grunts.

Turning his sea foam orbs to his siblings, Gaara let out a sigh; "I never did apologize for that yet."

Temari's gaze went from scornful to understanding the moment her eyes shifted to her little brother. "It's okay, what they made of you wasn't your fault"

It looked like she wanted to get close to him, her and Kankuro, to hug him or place a hand on his shoulder. But it seemed like neither of them knew exactly what do to, or how to proceed with him at physical contact, like they were afraid of making even the smallest mistake.

"Gaara" Kankuro said his voice full of emotion. "We're your siblings, we care about you. From now on, we shall always be your family"

For what felt like an eternity, Gaara said nothing. His gaze just fell to the ground, his face barely showed any emotion."...Thank you" But his voice was another story, there was sadness, melancholy and joy mixing in one heartfelt tone. He lifts his head to look at Naruto's blue eyes. "Thank you"

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

The skies above were becoming orange as dusk settled and soon night would soon follow. Kushina let out a small sigh as she stood at the memorial stone. Her eyes going to the names of people she had lost. Going from mostly her late husband and best friend, she only glanced for moment of a large shadow beside her. Jiraiya said nothing as he also looked at the stone.

"Ever since you came back Kakashi hasn't stayed for hours here, staring at this thing. Even started to actually laugh again. Don't think that kid has done that in twelve years." The Gama Sannin commented as he crossed his arms.

That did little to alleviate her concerns for the last living member of Minato's team. Oh she had not been happy to find out his habit of spending ungodly amounts of hours here had not dwindled with the years.

Kushina couldn't remember the last time Kakashi had spoken with actual joy on his voice. Ever since Obito and Rin's deaths, that boy had shouldered an enormous guilt on his conscience. Always blaming himself, forcing himself to endure through so much tragedy around him.

Kushina didn't know how Kakashi could endure so much, but she couldn't be any prouder at his resilience and fortitude.

"Many of these names should not even be here..." The Uzu bitterly remarked.

Jiraiya let out a long sigh as he stood next to her, the orange glow of dusk slowly giving way to the shadows as more and more stars appeared in the sky. "Many things should not be in this world, and yet they are. I truly believe that the shinobi system can't continue"

"And what can we do, Jiraiya?" It wasn't criticism, but an honest question. "We are ninja; we buy our daily bread with blood money. What do we know of peace? Our hands are drenched in blood"

The white haired man crossed his arms, "So, you're not even going to try to look for a way?" He paused, his next words were deliberately chosen, knowing they would have the greatest effect. "Your grandmother would do something to actually make the world a better place"

He saw her mouth open, a furious retort ready to come out. But instead she held back, clenching her hands. "But she's not here... I don't know what she would have done"

"Doesn't mean you shouldn't try" The sage pointed out. "Otherwise Naruto will just live through his own wars like we did"

This time she couldn't fight back an angry growl, "I keep hearing about what 'I should do'. But I can't help but think 'you could have done'" The turned to face him, violet eyes enraged. "You keep crying about the state of the world, well guess what? It's like this because of you. People like you, ninjas who never questioned orders. We are in this mess because Hashirama was too idealistic, and then he dumped the problems of his generation to the next, and had the gall to call it a 'Will of Fire', when in truth it's just an excuse"

Any other ninja would have been driven to strike her for insulting that which they held as sacred to their village. But Jiraiya just listened.

"And I... I too am part of that problem" Her gaze lowered in shame.

So many dead bodies left behind on her goal for vengeance... How was someone like her going to make sure Naruto wouldn't live through that? She wasn't Minato...

It felt like a few minutes of silence passed, night finally settling in, before Jiraiya once more spoke.

"It wasn't until the Second War that I fully understood" His voice was heavy, thick with emotion. "Though the toads trained me since young, taught me their ways and philosophy, I never truly saw... not until I saw the bodies once the smoke settled, ninjas and non-ninjas alike"

So much senseless loss of life.

"I traveled the world afterwards, saw the lives ruined by greed and petty grudges, until I couldn't bear looking at it no more" He muttered, "I went back to the toads, telling them I was ready to be a sage... and so the Great Elder gave me one last prophecy" Violet eyes turned to him once more in expectation. "That I would find and train the one would change the world, this child would ever destroy it or save it. Once, I thought it had been... somebody else. Then I met Minato, he was just so... amazing, so dazzling..."

At that Kushina couldn't help but weekly smile. He sure was...

"And then..." Jiraiya sighed with guilt and melancholy. "He died too. I thought that prophecy was the old toad finally going senile" A smile soon formed once more. "But then, I met that wonderful young boy you and Minato brought into the world, and I realized that maybe he-"

"No"

The words were spoken with such ferocity it made the sage stumble on his words. "I'm... what?"

"No" There was no mistaking the mother bear look in Kushina's eyes. "Leave my son out of it, don't you _dare'_ fill his head with the same bullshit you filled Minato's. None of this 'prophecy'. You stupid old people need to be held accountable for your own mistakes and fix them. My Naruto will not bear the weight of the world on his shoulders because of mistakes other people made"

"Look, I get it-"

"You get it?" Kushina questioned with an incredulous glare; "How the hell can you get it? You don't have children Jiraiya. I might not have been here for twelve years for Naruto's life, but I am here now. And like hell I'll be having my son end up a broken mess like Kakashi. And I'll be damned he dies like Obito and Rin!" Fire rose in her eyes as she roared at the end with passion and rage. "My son will not be some figurehead that erases all the sins of the past made by people who couldn't do the job themselves! Let alone save the whole damn world!"

As much as she loved her husband, his idealism drove her up the wall some times. This was why Jiraiya could annoy her with his preaching. Kushina was no idealist, her grandmother Tsukiko was no idealist.

And idealism only took you so far without action.

Jiraiya had simply kept silent as he listened to Kushina words. The toad sage stared for least a minute at the redhead before opening his mouth. "I have a daughter..."

It was like the early crickets that had begun their song the moment nightfall set in had suddenly disappeared. Like there was no wind rustling gently against the leave. The area around them had become a vacuum of absolute silence.

Kushina swore she could hear her own heart drumming next to her ears, but she barely paid attention to it, it was like her mind had suddenly left her body and was now wondering on an astral plane, trying to comprehend the words that had just come from Jiraiya's mouths.

There was no retort she could come up with, the ability to think coherent thoughts had suddenly become lost to her. So she said the only thing she could in the most eloquent way possible.

"The fuck?"

"Yeah, I have a daughter" Jiraiya replied, awkwardly scratching her nose. "Her name's Yuma. Her mother is... a woman I met on my travels"

The Uzumaki took a deep breath, and counted to ten. "Okay" She slowly said, trying to process this information. "How long ago was this?"

"About" He seemed to shrink under her gaze, "Twenty... years?"

Her sharp intake of breath heralded a shout like no other, but the redhead held it back by biting deep into her fist and letting out her frustration with all its muffled outrage.

This time, she counted to twenty.

"And" Gotta give it to her, Kushina was doing her damnedest to remain calm. "You never told Minato and me because...?" She waved her hand, prompting him to her an answer. Fast.

"Well uh, it's complicated" He stammered, "K-Kinda has to do with who her mother is, or rather the people she works for"

"Mh-hm. And they are?"

Jiraiya muttered something inaudible.

"What was that?" Kushina turned her ear to him as to better hear him.

"Ka...ken"

"Still didn't catch that"

He let out an explosive breath. "Kageken"

The blood drained from the redhead's face; "Kageken..."

"Yuma also works for them... Part time" Jiraiya quickly stated the last part.

Like that made things better! "Are you out of your damn mind?!" Kushina screamed before the older man covered her mouth with a hand. He then screamed holding his hand due to the redhead having bit him. "Did you get drunk twenty years ago and just decide; 'I'll knock up some random woman who happens to be a part of the group that killed the Shodai!'"

Jiraiya deadpanned at the redhead's attempt to mimic his voice by deepening it. While yes, there was alcohol involved he wasn't going to admit it; "They are not the same as they used to be."

"Tell that to mom, the whole damn village, and the Daimyo while you're at it!" Kushina quipped loudly. "These people have a permanent 'kill on sight' order because their leader killed the founder of Konohagakure!"

"You brought that up already!"

"I'll keep saying it till you explain to me your lapse in sanity!" This coming from who many dubbed the crazy one in the village spoke volumes. "Hell if Jiji finds out your head is coming off!"

"Sarutobi-Sensei already knows"

"...Huh?" Was about the only coherent word that could come from the former ANBU.

Jiraiya groaned as he ran his hands over his face; "Sensei knows. The founder of the Kageken had realized too late what he had done by slaying Hashirama brought out global war. He came to deeply regret his action so he rebuilt the Kageken from the ground up. Assassins who went after the people who truly deserve it. Things could have been even worse across the nations if not for their work."

"You know, I feel like I need to sit down for this" Kushina just let her self-fall on her butt unceremoniously. Jiraiya joined her by sitting cross legged on the grass before her. "Oh my gods" She groaned into her hands. "So, what, all this time you've getting info from Kageken?"

"Pretty much" Jiraiya admitted, "They tell me of people who could harm the village, and I help them in return"

Kushina looked lost, and he didn't blame her, this conversation had taken many unpredictable turns. "It's just hard to believe, Hattori Masanari, the ninja every ninja knows about, the greatest and most successful assassin of all times... Just had a change of heart?"

"He didn't 'just' have a change of heart, kiddo. We both know war changes people. The First Shinobi War? Hadn't been something so chaotic since the Clan Wars era, Hattori felt responsible for it"

"No surprise there..." Kushina muttered bitterly.

Hattori the Shadow Blade, the greatest ninja to ever live, turning his mercenary unit into an order that fought for righteous causes was hard to believe. Oh he wasn't the powerful ninja, Hattori wasn't called a God of Shinobi like the Shodai had been, and indeed, if he fought Hashirama head on he would have lost.

No, Hattori killed the Shodai because he truly lived up to his title of being the most accomplished shinobi ever. He never missed a target, all his contracts were flawlessly completed (the ones that could be attributed to him anyway), because Hattori possessed the most invaluable ninja skill; the ability to be completely undetectable.

Stories painted the man as a ghost, no scent that animals could pick, no killing intent any self-respecting ninja would pick up on, and not even a single spark of chakra that even the best sensors could detect.

He slipped into Konoha during a festival, while Hashirama mingled with his people, and struck him in the back with a poisoned blade the moment he was distracted by the fireworks.

That man and his group had become the most hated people in Konoha's history, with only Madara competing for that spot... but Madara had failed, whereas Hattori didn't.

And now to hear this...

"I can see why you never told anyone" Kushina sighed, "Even Minato and me. But you could have-"

"Oh I wanted to. But damn it I didn't want to put Yuma at risk at any cost" Huh, and just a moment ago Kushina was berating him on not understanding how a parent feels. Gods she deserved dirt on her tongue for that one. "So I didn't take any chances... Until you guys died, well, Minato did- Ugh, the point is; you were gone, I lost my chance of trusting you with this so instead I told the old man"

"He took it well I bet" Kushina sardonically said.

"Oh he nearly threw me in prison on charges of treason the moment I told him. Took a looot of convincing, including meeting the current leader of Kageken, and finding out a lot of valuable information I used that saved the village on multiple occasions came from them. But trust me; sensei knows Kageken is different now"

"But it's still something he has to keep secret" Kageken had nearly brought down Konoha with that single act, the death of the Shodai had triggered the First War, and it was only the efforts of the Nidaime and eventually the Third that spared the village from falling. "The village wouldn't understand..."

Jiraiya sighed heavily, leaning back and resting on his palms.

For a moment, neither said anything.

"How is Yuma?" Kushina prompted with a soft smile.

"Oh you should meet her, she's just amazing" Jiraiya's smile was one of pure enthusiasm. "She's a swordswoman, and she'll be the best alive" He sounded absolutely certain. "I tried to be there as much as I could, but most of the work raising her was her mother's. Heh didn't stop her from picking my fine tastes" Jiraiya crossed his arms and turned up his nose with a rather proud smirk.

"So, she's a pervert like you" Kushina dryly pointed out. Of course...

"Hehe, not even training with the monks since childhood kept her from inheriting that" He laughed, "She's actually friends with the princess"

Kushina's eyes went wide; "Before you ask I have no idea if she knows about Yuma ties to the Kageken. She told me she'd handle that so I haven't got a clue."

The redhead sighed before giving a pointed look to the Sannin; "Sure she's your 'only' kid?" Given how much this man spent time at the brothels she's amazed Jiraiya didn't have a heard of them.

"I'm not Samenosuke," the man glared dryly back. "Yuma is the only one I got."

"Hmm" Kushina's eyes shifted as she choose her next words carefully. "I'm sorry for what I said"

"You didn't know" The sage replied in a heavy voice. "And I had made sure you didn't"

"But… you understand then, my fears" The redhead spoke, her violet eyes looking at him, pleading. "Not Naruto, please, not my boy. Don't make him bear that burden"

Gods, she sounded on the verge of tears. And he really didn't want to impose them on anyone, not if he had a choice.

But prophecy didn't work that way.

"It's his path, whether we like it or not, this is what he is meant to do"

Kushina's hands grasped the grass as they tightened in impotent rage. She bit her lip, trying to hold back her anger at the injustice of it all.

"…And he won't be the only one"

"Huh?" Her eyes snapped back at him.

"The sage told me the prophecy didn't mean a single person. Those who take action when they see injustice, who smile even in the face of darkness, who fight out of love for others and for this world" His words seemed to encourage him, a smile blooming on his lips. "Such determination to protect this world, it's a will that's been passed down since ancient times. Those are the Children of the Prophecy, the Heirs of Rama"

The redhead's eyes widened, the name tugging a cord at the threads of her memory. "Rama… I've heard that name. Tsukiko-baachan mentioned it sometimes. I… never heard the whole thing. Something to do with the god Vishnu?" The world had so many different gods, she couldn't keep track of them all so she stuck with the ones she knew.

She remembered baachan making prayers at an altar of the blue four armed god, while leaving offerings to the dragon god Ryujin and the sun goddess Amaterasu. Baachan had been spiritual like that.

Kushina rarely prayed to the gods anymore, not since Uzushio burned.

Jiraiya let out a thoughtful sound, "Yeah, but that's a whole long story. One I learnt from that woman Tomoe. All I ask is that you keep faith Kushina, regardless of what happens, whatever will befall the world in the coming years, I promise you Naruto won't be alone"

From that she told him, Heirs of Rama tended to flock to one another, forging everlasting bonds.

Kushina remained silent for moment, "Tell me what she told you" Her request caught Jiraiya by surprise. "No more delays, no excuses. My son will be involved with something much bigger than all of us by what you're saying, so I want the full story of whatever it is you learnt" Her eyes brimmed with motherly determination. "I'm not letting him go through this dumb 'prophecy' business alone, so I wanna know everything"

Jiraiya pursed his lips, "Are you sure? We'll be here all night"

She grinned, "No excuses remember?"

The sage let out a long sigh, before unsealing a large jug of sake from a scroll. "Well, buckle up kid. You're gonna have your world turned upside down"

"Oh please" She snorted, accepting a cup from him. "I can handle it"

"You say that now, just wait till we get to the part about your grandma"

At that, she blinked in surprise. "Wait, what's that about baachan?"

Jiraiya grinned, "Well, I'll start from what Tomoe told me about herself. She met Tsukiko-dono a long, long time ago, in a land called Japan…"

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 _ **Hope you enjoyed it!**_

 _ **Miharu is based on Nanashi from Sword of the Stranger**_

 _ **Namika is based on Nagao Kagetora from Fate/Grand Order**_


	35. Godaime Hokage Act 1

**Disclaimer:** We do not own Naruto

 **Co-author and Beta** : Etheral-23

 **Chapter 35: Godaime Hokage Act 1**

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 _ **:Minato Namikaze:**_

Naruto kept reading the name on the tombstone over and over, unsure of how to really feel. He supposed he was sad, grieving in a way. It was weird to mourn for someone you never knew.

His father had given up everything for the village, to keep them all safe, at the cost of making his own son a Jinchuuriki. He had tried getting mad over it, but… honestly, the thought of getting angry about it just tired him out so much.

What was the point anyway? Getting a mad about something that happened long ago and there was nothing to do about it now. In the end he'd only feel worse. So instead he chose to hear everything his mother told him about his father. How his father had been a great man, honorable, kind, strong, smart, many times a complete wuss according to her, but a loving husband and would have been an awesome father.

His father had set a great example for ninjas of the Leaf to live by, even if he was too idealistic at times.

So Naruto had finally decided to accompany his mother, half an hour before the ceremony to honor all those who fell in the defense of the village. Lord Akiha had declared he would remain in Konoha for several days to help oversees the repairs on the village. Calling in resources and aid to speed up the recovery, and would be attending at the wake as well, to thank the brave fallen.

Kushina gently squeezed his shoulder. "Your father was one of a kind, bit of a dummy when it came to things that weren't ninjutsu. But thoughtful and patient as well" She chuckled. "He had to be to deal with an Uzumaki being his wife"

Naruto continued staring at the grave.

"He would be so proud of the brave son he had"

He held back his tears, but sniffed all the same. He ran the sleeve of his ceremonial dark shirt under his nose, as he shifted his wet gaze.

Kushina knelt, planted a kiss to her fingers before running them over his name. "I love you"

Naruto wanted to say something too, that he was so proud his father had been such a strong shinobi, the Hokage even, that he had been an even more honorable man. But right now, he just didn't have the words to express himself.

His mother understood, and smiled comfortingly at him before softly guiding him around the grounds as they walked away. "There is someone else I want to introduce you to"

Mother and son trekked through the cemetery, he idly gazed at a few other people strolling by, bringing offerings to the graves of the people they knew and lost.

They didn't take long to reach their destination, one more gravestone with Konoha's symbol engraved, a ninja's grave. There was no last name, only the word 'Haru'.

"This is Haru" Kushina said, voice full of melancholy and nostalgia. "He was our other teammate with Mikoto" Surprised etched on her son's face. "I think you would have liked him a lot" She knelt before the grave. "Haru was just… so full of life" She breathed out with nigh amazement as she remembered her late friend/comrade. "Always smiling and laughing, always trying to make other people laugh"

She touched the stone with care. "He grew up an orphan, and always said he wanted a family" Kushina smiled softly. "But he was never alone; Haru had this… light that managed to brighten up someone's day. He'd go out of his way to make someone laugh. Everyone in the Academy was his friend, and we; Mikoto, Sakumo-sensei and I… we were his family"

"…What happened to him?" Naruto asked warily. The tombstone was clear enough, but asked how it had happened.

The smile vanished from her lips. "It was on a mission, we got into something way over our heads. A rogue ninja, much more experienced and talented than us… Haru died saving Mikoto and I"

"And the ninja?"

"We killed him" She hollowly replied. "He was an Ichimonji, an old clan that should have died out long ago. Maniacs from the Clan War era" The redhead sighed heavily. "In a fight they would enter this… battle-lust that could not be quenched, masters of every conceivable weapon. Fighting even one of them is a nightmare…"

"They're still around?" Naruto wondered.

"Not as a full clan, no. Lots of other clans had tried destroying them long ago, but individual members still walk around the world, looking for a fight. They just refuse to die…" She closed her eyes. "Wasn't my last encounter with a member of the Ichimonji, years afterwards I met this… this woman, it wasn't just once. Time and time again over the years we just kept running into each other"

Kushina took a deep breath, slowly let it all out. "I hope I never see her again" She peered back at her son. "But that doesn't matter now. Your father too suffered a great loss, his teammates fell in combat. And so the old man chose to join our teams"

"The three of you were on a team together" Now Naruto finally understood.

"Yeah" Kushina reminisced fondly. "We were amazing together. We swore to always look after one another and to always remember the friends we lost" She focused on the tombstone once more. "Mikoto and I never forgot Haru, never forgot how he gave his life for us, but above all else, how much he could make us laugh, or how much he would just smile in the face of adversity"

Naruto stared at Haru's name, feeling a deep respect for this ninja he never knew. He sounded like the type of ninja he wanted to be like.

"This day, we remember the fallen" His mother addressed reverently. "Those who gave everything for us, so that their spirit will always live on… Come on, it's time we go to the ceremony"

And so they did, he met up with his team, and those of his generation. Everyone was dressed appropriately for the wake, staring solemnly as Akiha-sama spoke of the bravery and how he wished he could have known such valiant people personally. Maiyuri-hime said she had fought at the side of the ninja of their village, and how by that she knew that the warriors who had laid down their lives were people of immeasurable courage. The Land of Fire was lesser for their loss.

But they would strive forward; they would carry one as they always did, with the memory of their comrades, their own fires burning now within their spirits.

That was their Will of Fire after all.

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And the memorial service had passed. It was time for the living to continue on. And right now, there was a lot to take care of.

"So we are really going to through with this," Jiraiya asked blankly while he stared out through the large windows of the Hokage's office. His eyes surveyed the village as the evening sun slowly faded with nightfall's coming. "Finding her and trying to convince her to come home will take one hell of an effort."

Sitting at his desk, Hiruzen goes over several papers while smoking on his pipe; "If you like I could turn the position over to you or Kushina?"

That actually made the Gama Sannin pale as he shivered; "I'd rather have Naruto at that desk than either me or his mother."

A throaty chuckle came from the wizened Kage; "Even though Naruto takes after Kushina the most?"

"At least he's young. We could salvage him from becoming entirely like his mother..." Jiraiya grumbled. Honestly, he loved Kushina like a daughter and was an outstanding ninja who had protected their home with her life... but that woman had no control of her temper. Had she been Hokage she would have pissed off a lot of people and gotten into a lot of fights. Which Konoha definitely did not need.

After a brief laugh, a serious frown came upon the Sarutobi. "In all seriousness Jiraiya, I..." He sighed warily. "Each day that passes I feel like I'm less qualified to keep this job. Politics were never my forte, and my personal experience in dealing with foreign affairs leaves much to be desired" His eyes became downcast. "That's not even getting into domestic affairs..."

Jiraiya turned upon hearing the disappointment and self-loathing in his teacher's voice. "You did all you could"

"An entire clan dead says otherwise" Hiruzen says gravely. "Along with many loyal ninja who perished at the hands of my student..."

The Gama Sannin said nothing.

"I had been too soft in my duties, too hopeful, and often bowed to the demands of others in other to avoid conflict" The Hokage continued. "I authorized much wet work to further the village's agenda, and even aided people who in older days we would have never considered helping..." His old eyes meet his student's. "We need someone who can deal with the politics, strong willed and cunning, who won't bow their head the moment things turn difficult, but rather meet these problems head on"

"Not saying Tsunade doesn't have what it takes," His old teammate was a born leader unlike him. And it came from more than being a Senju or Hashirama's granddaughter. She could make the hardest decisions that even Jiraiya would never accept.

Tsunade could speak politics and could handle sitting at a table with any noble you throw at her. She had the intelligence and presence Jiraiya could honestly admit he sorely lacked. But from the toll of losing Dan, and her little brother when he was a kid... "She only stayed in the village as long as she did because of Kushina till we found out about Orochimaru and she stormed off."

"I remember," Oh the Sandaime never forgot how angry Tsunade was when she stormed into his office and screamed at him for letting Orochimaru go after seeing all those horrid experiments he had conducted. And then the following day she literally vanished from village with Shizune.

And both men remember vividly the warpath that Kushina was in upon finding out her mother had left Konoha without even a note to her or something. Not even Minato could calm his wife down. "I still remember how she was after I informed her about the Kyuubi attack" Jiraiya softly said. "It broke her heart, like any last thing that kept her tied to Konoha was gone forever..."

"Not all" Hiruzen pointed out, and thank the gods for that.

"Yeah, but she still refused to come back, even after I told her about Naruto" Jiraiya said without any judgement in his voice. He had done his part in keeping Naruto safe from his parent's enemies, but he had not been present when the boy was growing up. Kakashi had been a complete mess, and Hiruzen was caught between a hundred different responsibilities. And Tsunade in her heartbroken state could not bring herself to act or care anymore.

They had given her time, what happened wasn't easy on anybody, especially Naruto, but... "It's time she takes control of her life, and face her responsibilities once more" The Sandaime strongly addressed.

"And we both know the one person who will physically drag Tsunade back if she has to," The toad sage grunts; "I plan on bringing Naruto along but we both know Kushina will be coming regardless of what either of us say."

Sarutobi waved it off; "I'd rather have that firestorm outside of the village than inside it. And Kushina will likely get a few punches in before you can stop her. Just make sure she does not go overboard."

"We are talking about Kushina right?" Maybe Jiraiya should bring that Karin girl too. Perhaps both she and Naruto can keep the older Uzu woman calm…ish. Hey a guy can hope right?

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Hiruzen barely remembered the last time something like this had happened, after a long life of dealing with political schemes and negotiations some of it tended to blur together. Yet it was not every day not only the leaders of two villagers, and their lords, would gather at the same place.

It was thanks to careful maneuvering and the cards they held in their hand, namely Suna's jinchuuriki being their hostage, they managed to arrange a meeting at a safe bunker that was in close proximity to Konoha.

They sat around a rectangular table, standing in the middle of Konoha's delegation was the daimyo of Hi no Kuni, Lord Akiha Sasaki himself. The daimyo donned his regal robes and elaborate hat, he sat with a calm and soft smiling expression on his face as he fanned himself.

Hiruzen himself sat at his right, while princess Maiyuri sat at his left. The princess seemed to carry an air of resignation, quite the contrast to her usual spirited self, and the Hokage could guess why.

Sarutobi did not doubt the princess's freedom would be severely limited from now on. Yet Akiha-sama had allowed her to take part of the proceedings, as she had participated in the battle itself, and she still needed to be groomed for her future role once she inherited his place.

Next to Hiruzen sat Koharu, and at the other end of the table was Homura. Thankfully Danzo wasn't present, when it came to matters involving foreign affairs, the old ninja most often was absent. Which was for the better, his work was easier the less people knew of his presence and influence on Konoha. His former teammates kept a calm expression on their faces, but they no doubt were feeling vindictive. He couldn't blame them; Hiruzen himself doubted he might be able to forgive Suna anytime soon. But still, he had to help solve this situation so it wouldn't lead to a full out war.

Gods, he was too old for this job…

The wizened Kage casted a look at their entourage, standing up was Shikaku, their commander was flanked by various elite ANBU, who kept under their custody the three Sand siblings and their teacher. They would be the trump card for this negotiation, especially young Gaara. His heart went for the boy, truly, but he had to think of his nation first.

They steeled themselves when Suna's delegation arrived… but looked on in surprise when they realized it wasn't who they were expecting.

The warriors accompanying the diplomats weren't Sand ninja; they were the royal guard of the Wind Daimyo, armored warriors who wielded katanas, spears and bows. And the daimyo, well, most of the people present had met the Wind Daimyo before.

Lord Kuraseki Sayaka was an average heighten goatee man who had the strange disposition of both being highly religious like his clan and yet hedonistic. His policy of outsourcing various missions to Konoha instead of Suna, whose fee was higher than the Land of Fire's hidden village, made him very unpopular with the shinobi population.

This man _wasn't_ Kuraseki. The man standing before them was a large man, with squinty eyes. In comparison to his face, his nose was rather small and inconspicuous. He had a thin mustache and a small pointed chin-beard. He also wore a necklace with a white sphere-shaped charm on it. The man in front of them was Tsukaru Sayaka, Kuraseki's brother.

And it was him who was donning the Wind Daimyo's robes.

"What is the meaning of this?" Homura demanded. "We requested for Kuraseki-sama to come"

Tsukaru sighed heavily; his squinted eyes looked at them solemnly. "My brother is dead" His response drew several gasped breath from those present, including the Sand Shinobi under their custody. "Upon my clan's right of succession, I inherited my brother's place as daimyo of Kaze no Kuni"

"Oh Heavens above…" The Fire Daimyo fanned himself in agitation. "I had no idea"

"We made sure word wouldn't get out until the Chūnin Exams were over" The large bellied men took a seat at the other side of the table.

Koharu noted something. "Where is Suna's delegation?"

Temari swore under her breath, she shared an uneasy look with Kankuro. Already things had fallen out of hand, just what the hell was happening in Suna?

"That… is one of the reasons I am here" Tsukaru explained. "Suna is currently under a military blockade by the capital's forces"

Baki drew in a sharp breath while terror was written all over the older siblings faces. Gaara merely closed his eyes in contemplation of this news.

"Tsukaru-dono" Hiruzen spoke up. "I think I speak for everyone with me when I ask; what is going on?"

The large man fiddled with his fingers. "Before we received reports of Sunagakure invading Konoha with the aid of Otogakure, effectively violating our treaty" He casted an angry glance at the Suna shinobi. "My brother was assassinated"

The princess's eyes widen in disbelief. "Assassinated?" And they were keeping a blockade on Suna, then that means; "You believe your own shinobi did it"

"It was easy to connect the dots" The Wind Daimyo replied. "Our shinobis were not pleased with my brother's policies, and seeing as the time-frames coincide, we feared Sunagakure was taking measures to overthrow us" He turned his gaze to the only senior shinobi of the Sand in the room. "Is that not what you had planned, Baki?"

He was drenched in sweat; Baki could not believe what was happening. Suna would have never executed the plan unless they had confirmation that Konoha had fallen, and with the number of ninja that withdrew from the battle-

"Baki" The newly crowned daimyo spoke with authority. "I order you to tell me the truth"

The Sand jounin swallowed the lump on his throat, and sighed in defeat. "Yes… It's true" Temari gasped in shock while Kankuro swore, they had no idea, and nobody told them this was part of the plan…

They could feel the killing intent coming from the royal soldiers on Kaze's side. They glared at Baki with murder in their eyes, silently crying accusations, labeling him 'traitor'.

"I see… so it is as we feared" The daimyo replied.

"B-But it couldn't have been us!" Baki quickly jumped in defense of his village; if they weren't careful then Suna would be put to the torch. "The plan would only be put into effect once we defeated Konoha! And nobody in our forces had any idea, only the council had debated it!"

Hiruzen could hear the desperation in his voice, he was telling the truth. He hated doing this, but losing Suna would affect the balance of power in the Elemental Nations. "If I may play the devil's advocate here" Everyone's attention turned to the Hokage. "It sounds like it was a sloppy work, you said you knew your brother was assassinated the moment you saw him?"

"Eh, yes" Tsukaru nodded. "A deep wound on his back, he had been stabbed on his bed"

"Hmm" The Professor narrowed his eyes. "The assassination of a daimyo, especially one from the Great Nations, isn't something to be done lightly. Suna would have taken steps to make sure the blame couldn't be placed on them, particularly with their known dislike for Kuraseki."

"You're actually saying it was someone else?" Tsukaru's eyes slowly widened.

"Yes"

Baki let out a sigh of relief, he couldn't belief that after what happened, and Konoha was willing to save them…

"I am surprised you would defend them, Hiruzen" Homura remarked gravely. "After they invaded our home and drew our people's blood on our own soil"

"Believe me, I have not forgotten, and I do not do this lightly" He replied. "But we should keep the peace and balance of the nations, otherwise we may have another Great War on our hands" Already they had reports of Iwa ninjas scouring their borders, their old enemy was already looking for holes in their patrols and defenses. It was better to keep the allies they could have.

"If it wasn't Suna?" Akiha wondered. "Then who was?"

His daughter's head perk up as realization dawned on her. "Perhaps the same person who killed their Kage"

Koharu growled with disgust. "Orochimaru…"

"That snake again" Homura spoke with pure venom.

Sarutobi sighed and closed his eyes.

"That… would make sense" Tsukaru stroked his chin. "He'd want us to be fighting among each other for his personal benefit" He pondered in thought for a few seconds. "I suppose Sunagakure couldn't have been responsible, not with the instability they had"

The shinobi of the Sand sighed, feeling their knees grow weak with relief. Only Gaara remained calm throughout the entire exchange.

"But make no mistake" Their daimyo spoke harshly. "All this was possible due to your actions, and don't think I will forget your council was actually planning on assassinating my brother. You have jeopardized our treaty with Konoha, one that provides our nation with much needed food and other resources" His gaze turned mournful, and they could see remnants of sympathy in his visage. "I could have helped you, I knew how much my brother's policies were hurting your village financially, I had spoken to some of your councilmen about it, even you Baki… I suppose that's why you planned on murdering Kuraseki, so I would take his place"

Baki's head bowed in shame.

"With time, I could have done something to change my brother's mind… but I guess it's too late for that"

It was a long while before anyone said anything. With a resigned sigh, Tsukaru joined his hands over the table. "Now, for the other reason of what I came here today; I am sure Konoha would like compensation for what happen. I am open to your terms so we can keep our treaty intact"

Baki would have protested to that, Suna's council wasn't here to speak for itself, but given the circumstances it was best that he remained quiet…

Akiha cleared his throat. "The Fire Court is willing to continue upholding our treaty, so long as Konoha's demands are mostly met" He turned to Hiruzen.

The Hokage nodded before speaking up. "We want monetary reparations for the rebuilding of our village. We are willing to return Sunagakure's jinchuuriki to them; so long as he keeps the new seal we placed on him for the holding of his bijuu"

Temari looked at their younger brother, her first instinct was to put a comforting hand on his shoulder, but refrained. She… wasn't sure how to act in this moment; she wasn't used to acting like a sister towards him.

"Hmm" The Wind Daimyo stroked his chin once more. "I imagine you want Suna to be the one who directly pays for the reparations"

"Yes" Koharu nodded.

Kankuro grimaced, this was bad. The reparations would take a lot from their budget, and they were already tight as is was, the one way they could pay was-

"We can use the gold dust to pay for reparations"

Baki let out a sharp gasp as everyone turned to face Gaara, who had spoken for the first time since they arrived.

The redhead had finally opened his green eyes and was looking at the delegation. "We have used the gold dust as a commodity to pay for expenses during times of dire economic strain. And I have no doubt we still have much of it stored in our reserves"

"But Gaara" His sensei spoke. "That gold dust is Rasa-Sama's weapon, an heirloom of your clan; it was with great pain that the choice was made to sell it in the first place. It's a symbol-"

"I too am a symbol" Gaara spoke, his voice was bereft the anger and murderous intent they had come to expect from him. "As a jinchuuriki, I am a symbol of our village's might, just like the gold dust, but we never hesitated to use such symbols when we needed it, be it for war or for the prosperity of our village. And now we must use it again, to make the first step so we can pay for our mistakes"

His siblings looked at him in disbelief. Was this… was this really Gaara? How much his fight against the Uzumaki had changed him?

Tsukaru stared at Gaara with a mixture of surprise and admiration for what the boy was proposing just so their village could make amends. He had heard the boy was much different, a psychotic thing who lived only for the slaughter. But seeing him now... he couldn't believe this was the same boy.

Hiruzen smiled despite himself, feeling a renewed sense of hope for their villages.

Gaara himself didn't believe he was doing anything special; he was only doing the right thing. He told himself it was something Naruto would do.

"Would Suna abide by it?" Akiha asked.

"They won't have much of a choice" The redhead replied. "The military is ready to act if they need to, and I believe they will have the support of eager Konoha shinobi if it comes down to it"

"Hmph" Koharu said. "Of that you can be certain"

The Fire Daimyo fanned himself. "The Fire Court is also willing to lend aid personally if it is necessary, seeing as Konoha itself is not currently in a good position to embark on a campaign"

Gaara nodded. "Then they will abide, it's either that or destruction"

Nobody said anything for a moment. The sand shinobi merely accepted it; they had made grave mistakes and were now paying for them. This was the first step towards owning up to them, to Konoha and their nations.

"There is another matter" The Hokage brought up. "The seal on young Gaara, we want our seal masters to modify it to make more secure, as to avoid the possibility of the Shukaku breaking lose just by its host losing consciousness. We believe it would also aid with his mental stability"

"Hmm…" Tsukaru grew pensive. "It is true that we've dealt with too many unstable jinchuuriki in the past. I've always considered the risks of Bijuu's easy deployment to outweigh the benefits. So I will concede to that" The Wind Daimyo said, voice filled with relief. "I believe we have an agreement then"

As the details were ironed out, Maiyuri was lost in her own thoughts. She could only lament that such things like the jinchuuriki were practiced in the first place. Her hands tightened angrily at the feeling of impotence. Suna's actions towards their own leaders, shinobis going rogue left and right, a system designed to perpetuate and feed on conflict and chaos… It just couldn't remain like that, things had to change.

* * *

 **XxX ~ Next morning ~ XxX**

* * *

 _Crunch. Crunch_

Miharu's eyebrow twitched at the unnecessarily loud chewing coming from his sister. They were currently in Maiyuri's room, one that had been graciously provided to them with all the luxuries befitting someone of the princess' station. Very nice furniture and appliances, a large bed, all arranged in a very nicely cleaned room.

Which his sister was unceremoniously dirtying with all the empty plastic bags from snacks, not to mention the crumbs. She laid on a large couch, her hand reaching into a nearly empty back of cookies while the other held a manga, which she was very engrossed in.

While he wore a traditional kimono and tended to his sword, Namika saw fit to wear a very short shorts, and an oversized white shirt she had slept in.

No decorum whatsoever with her.

He tried to ignore the loud munching by focusing on their friend. Maiyuri was just sitting by a desk, her soft green eyes calmly going over the reports of the Suna-Oto invasion's aftermath, trying to learn all the names of the casualties.

That couldn't be healthy.

Miharu pondered for a way to reach out to her, to ease her burdens in this trying times. But the white tipped young man was beaten to it by his sister, who approached the matter in her usual matter.

"Sooooo" She spoke, her mouth dirty with crumbs. "You mad at your dad?"

Maiyuri looked at her startled, while Miharu hit his head against the floor. It helped, it dulled him to his sister's complete lack of tack.

"Um, n-no. I mean… I don't think so" The princess sighed to herself. "Miharu, Namika, do you think I'm childish?"

The siblings shared an uneasy glance. "Um, in what regard?"

"Me wanting peace for the countries, I know what my father says, but I just… I need to believe it can be done" That the price would be worth the pay.

"Maaaan…" Namika awkwardly scratched her head. "I dunno what to tell you, I have no idea what the lands really need" She prompted herself up in the couch, kneeling on it. "But if you want to go out there and kick some sense into people, you know I'll always have your back!" She flashed her a very toothy grin.

"What you want is not easy" Miharu added, "But whatever path you choose, you know we will be with you throughout it all"

Maiyuri could not help but smile, feeling immensely touched and blessed at having such loyal friends like them. From childhood playmates, to bodyguards, and comrades in arms, the princess knew that as long as they were at her side, she could take on whatever came her way.

But… that still did not ease her worries.

"Thank you both" She stood up, gathering her things. "But I think I need a time for myself to think"

* * *

 **XxX ~ Konoha main gate ~ XxX**

* * *

Baki took a deep breath of the free air as him and his Genin team was now finally allowed to leave and return home. Absently he felt the few ANBU hidden in the shadows watching them closely. He would not blame them for being cautious. No doubt they will follow them till the border of Suna and return home...

Home, while he outwardly hid his emotions, his heart only felt anxiety. What awaited them back in Sunagakure? His visible eye shifted over to Gaara who was speaking to the young Uzumaki that had changed his life. Beside them was the Kumogakure team, Baki did not envy the youngsters when they had to report in to their Kage. He also took into account of Kushina Uzumaki standing close by, blankly keeping an eye on Kumo.

"So" The happy-go-lucky blond Uzumaki smiled widely at his fellow blond Jinchuuriki. "Guess this is goodbye then"

"Suppose so" Yugito said with a shrug of her arms. "Maybe we'll see each other again in the future" She smirked right back at him.

"Hopefully it won't be because of a war" Omoi pointed out.

His teammates gave him a deadpanned expression. "Oh you were born just to SUCK the joy out of any situation, weren't you?" Karui grunted out.

Shaking her head, Samui extended her hand for which her fellow blond shook; "You're cool Uzumaki."

"Thanks," parting hands Naruto looked to the Suna Jinchurriki; "Hope things are okay back home."

"So do I," Gaara returned in his usual monotone but held a softer tone.

The group noticed Naruto walking over to Baki who blinked when the blond extended his hand to him; "No hard feelings?"

A light snort came from the older man; "You are different Uzumaki," but shook the teen's hand; "I meant what I said. You will become a fine shinobi."

"Just don't go doing something stupid like this again and I won't need a reason to kick your asses"

Kankuro snorted. "Like you could kick my ass"

"Oh yeah;" Naruto snapped with a challenging smirk. "You wanna go right now? I took on the fricking Shukaku"

The puppeteer smirked at him with equal challenge. "Would like to see you try that without any dragon or bijū or other jinchuuriki helping you"

The two groups save Gaara only sweatdropped as the puppeteer and blond Uzumaki hit the ground via Temari's smoking fist; "Knock it off you idiots."

"Yes, ma'am," both males mumbled in the dirt.

Naruto grunted, it seemed like women hitting men when they did something they considered 'stupid' was a universal constant. After picking himself up from the ground, he looked at the red haired Jinchuuriki and smiled at him widely. He placed his hand forward for Gaara to shake it.

Soft green eyes stared at it unsure, he had seen the gesture plenty of times, knew what it supposedly meant... but nobody had ever shaken hands with him. Naruto's gesture was more than just one of goodbye; it was also one of acceptance.

Too long he had been in the darkness, lost, alone... now that he stood alongside his siblings, in front of this brave ninja who had given him a piece of 'light'. The same light that had saved Naruto himself.

Gaara grasped his hand as if he could grasp that same light, swearing to always carry it with him so that he might move forward as a proud ninja of Sunagakure.

As they shook hands, a smile adorned Kushina's lips at what her dear son had done for this poor boy. Yugito watched on happily. And Gaara's siblings and teacher could finally share in a moment of happiness with the redheaded boy.

The wind rustled the leaves on the trees.

Gaara's lips curved upward ever so slightly, so minuscule the others couldn't see it.

* * *

 **XxX ~ the following day ~ XxX**

* * *

As the afternoon sun shone warmly over Konoha, in Naruto's usual training area said Uzumaki held a bokken in his hands as stared over at his uncle who also had a bokken. "Remember what I said Naruto."

"Hai uncle."

Close by Kushina and Karin watched with Soujiro sitting on the ground cleaning his sword. The spectacle wearing Uzumaki observed closely since she would soon be learning kenjutsu as well.

"Have you got faculties with a blade, Karin-san?" The young swordsman asked.

"I haven't really used close ranged weapons" Karin replied. "My sensory ability has always helped me avoid combat, or simply rely on ranged tactics to win"

Soujiro lifted his blade, inspecting it. "Perhaps ranged weaponry will fit you more then?"

Kushina tapped her chin. "That sensor skill of yours is easily the best I've seen, you could be quite the marksman if you get your hands on a bow"

Said sensory skill allowed Karin to pick up fiery and excitable chakra signature that was quickly closing in. Oh Aunt Kushina would not be happy...

Just as Naruto finished a kata from his uncle he was soon tackled into a bone tight hug via a Lyn Uzumaki; "Hello~"

Kushina felt her eye twitched while watching her son being smothered by Lyn's chest. Saito only sighed while Karin only looked wide eyed. "We are in the middle of training Lyn," Saito muttered dryly.

That made the buxom Uzumaki whine while still holding Naruto; "Oh, you can work out later."

Again Kushina felt her eye twitch.

"Right now there is something more important that must take precedence!" The wild haired Uzumaki said in a 'sophisticated' vernacular.

"Like what?" Naruto muffled voice questioned. His face stuck between Lyn's endowed breasts.

"Like, who is my favorite little nephew among the two of you?" She set Naruto down, placing her hand on his shoulders and flashing him that typical Uzumaki smile.

Karin sweatdropped. "Seriously?"

"Of course. How I am supposed to know on whom to spend money on their birthdays?"

Soujiro brought up. "My last birthday she gave me a card... it looked like it was written five minutes before she gave it me"

A scoff came from Kushina as she crossed her arms. "My, you really work on what to give people. Huh Lyn?" She snarked in smarmy tone.

Blue eyes slowly narrowed over at Kushina. "For your information, my job doesn't really pay up a lot of money. Usually there aren't many potential employers left alive after a first encounter with what I deal with"

"Oh," the condescending tone almost palpable from Kushina; "Now that is a feat even for you." Violet eyes soon glared into sapphire as Lyn was inches away from her face. "Oh stroke a nerve sweetie?"

The wild haired Uzu only glared for a moment before smirking; "You just still pissed because I look sexier than you. I mean look at these babies," Lyn held her large bosom in her hands; "DD's can't go wrong."

"Yeah, tell that to your back" Kushina snapped back as she was quite proud of her own breasts.

"That's what the exercise is for" Lyn smiled all too sweetly. "Though... I think I know what you're truly jealous about" She brushed a lock of messy hair behind her shoulder. "I mean, you became a shinobi while I actually followed on Tsukiko-baachan's footsteps"

That earned a growled from the former ANBU captain.

"That's okay, that's okay!" Lyn held up her hands as it to placate her, but every single gesture and mannerism was filled with mocking sarcasm. "I mean, not everyone is up for our little family tradition of demon-hunting..."

A savage cry from the former Jinchuuriki and suddenly both women were now barreling onto the ground.

Soujiro looked blandly at the scene while Naruto and Karin squinted. Saito did not look surprise nor disappointed. You had to have some semblance of hope to be disappointed after all.

"So uh..." Naruto awkwardly rubbed his arm as his mother and Lyn proceeded to beat on each other. "What's the deal with Kya? I've been trying to get close to her for months now and, well…" He'd have more luck finding feathers on a frog.

"Little ray of sunshine ain't she?" Lyn grunted as she grabbed Kushina from behind on a headlock. "Sorry about that, she's not what you call a 'people's person'" The wild maned Uzumaki let out a pained 'uuf' when Kushina elbowed her in stomach and threw her over her shoulder.

Recovering in mid-air the buxom Uzumaki landed perfectly on a tree which she used to spring board herself tackling her fellow redhead; "I can't really tell you what's she has been through to make her like that, it's her business and no one else's. But like I said before, Kya is a good person." Lyn growled out while both she and Kushina wrestled on the ground.

Naruto did believe Lyn in that, but just what hell did his fellow Namikaze go through to end up how she is now? "I looked through my dad's and my grandparents things; there wasn't much of anything about the Namikaze with them."

"Not unexpected given their strong nomadic nature," Saito spoke while blankly watching Kushina and Lyn were still fighting. "And as I explained, Kya is not as open with me as she is with Lyn regarding certain matters. That includes the Namikaze culture."

"Hate to break it to ya kiddo" The naginata user huffed as she and Kushina slowly circled around each other, waiting to see who'd make the next move. "But if you wanna know more about your other clan, then Kya is the only one who can help you" She dodged to left as Kushina struck, then blocked a kick with her own leg. The two locked arms after a quick trading of blows before coming apart again. "She still follows traditions, such as they are" Lyn paused for a moment, a thought occurring to her. "In fact, she is gonna visit a shrine of their clan in a few weeks"

Naruto arched a brow; "A shrine?"

"Yeah" Lyn nodded; "Old Namikaze shrine, built in the wilderness away from civilization. Kya goes every year" She explained. "I could convince her to take her with you"

"It is Naruto's heritage," Soujiro brought up as he sheathed his sword.

At hearing that the blond Uzumaki looked unsure; "Would she even take me?"

"Like I," Lyn grunted as she was thrown to the ground into a headlock; "said," she grunts painfully; "I can convince her. You're as much as Namikaze as you are Uzumaki."

"Hmm" The Shoton wielder didn't look convinced. "I don't know..." Kya did not seem interested in his company in the least.

Lyn grabbed Kushina and flipped her over, kneeling and keeping her on the ground as she twisted her arm. "Trust me kid" She smirked predatory. "Kya will listen to me; I can be very persuasive"

Karin and Naruto blushed at the tone she used, knowing full well what she meant by that.

Soujiro tilted his head innocently, his hazel eyes showing curiosity. "Is that a euphemism for sex?"

Saito refrained from rolling his eyes; "Yes, son. It is" It always was with Lyn...

"Oh" The young swordsman look too pleased with himself. "Got it one try"

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

"Think this is the first time I ever saw you excited," A deep male rough voice spoke with mirth.

The afternoon sun shone brightly overhead as two figures slowly strolled down the dirt road that would lead to Konohagakure no Sato. Both wearing matching black cloaks with red clouds and straw hats over their heads. The figure on the right being average in height while the other being quite tall with a large blade strapped to his back.

"You think so?" the average height figure responded in a calm monotone.

The tall figure snorted; "There's lightness to your steps. Can't say I blame you. How does anyone react when hearing a living legend is back from the dead not via from so creepy necromantic jutsu? And you considered her family, right Itachi?"

"It is none of your business, Kisame" The shorter figure replied with a firm yet soft-spoken tone. Among the tassels of his hat, a pair of blazing red eyes with three tomoes each peered through.

Shark-like teeth formed into a wide smirk. "That means 'yes'"

Itachi did not dignify that with a reply.

"Gotta say, I'm looking forward to it, always wanted to face off against the Red Death"

"You would prove a challenge with you strength, but Kushina-sama perfectly blends both immense strength with amazing speed. There is a reason she is considered almost as dangerous as Tsunade Senju. Even I would have difficulty facing her," Kisame rolled his eyes to Itachi's bluntness.

Count on his partner to not beating around the bush with his words. He soon lifted a brow; "Would you actually raise a weapon against her?" Again he was met with silence. "I mean with our mission and all."

"I would rather not have a confrontation in Konoha. But that may prove unavoidable. So we better not get the entire village after us and do not waste time."

Again Kisame snorted; "Worried about your little brother too eh?"

"...We are nearing the village, Kisame" The kin-slayer ignored his question. "Extra caution must be taken from now on"

"Ehhh;" Kisame didn't look particularly perturbed by that. "Well, with all they shit they've been dealing with lately security is gonna be tight" His beady eyes turned towards his partner with curiosity; "Unless you know a way in?"

Itachi's eyes slightly narrowed in thought; "There is a place that'll be bereft of security. We need not worry for witnesses spotting us either, there is nobody there. There hasn't been for years."

"Oh," the taller man quickly deduced "You think Uzumaki will be there?"

"If I know Kushina-sama, it goes without saying."

At that Kisame chuckled; "You're one cold bastard."

* * *

 **XxX ~ next day ~ XxX**

* * *

"Why are you two here?" Sasuke had not even bothered in hiding the dry irritation in his voice upon opening the slide door of his home and seeing both Kushina and Naruto with matching grins.

The blond dressed in the new gear like he wore during the Chunin exams. Least it was better than that gods awful jumpsuit he used to wear. The said mother of the madman that is his teammate wore a similar attire but with red lining. It being her way to honoring her father, Daisuke Uzumaki as he recalled hearing from Sakura since after the invasion.

"We're having lunch!" Kushina exclaimed with utmost cheer, even throwing up her arms.

Sasuke gave a quick glance at the clock on the wall. "That is what people usually do at this hour, yes" He couldn't keep the snark off his voice even if he wanted to. But he didn't want to, so that was a moot point anyway. He found that sarcasm and dry wit always made dealing with these two much more manageable.

"No, you dummy" Kushina gently chided. "We as in, us and you as well~"

"...Yeah" Sasuke dragged out the word slowly. "No. Thanks" And closed the sliding door on their faces.

But he knew that wasn't going to be the end of it. Not by a long shot. Sure enough as he turned around the redheaded lunatic was standing in front of him, her smile never fading. The Uchiha could not hid the twitch in his eye; "I didn't invite you in."

"Who said I was taking no for answer?" His eye twitched more as he saw Naruto also inside his house leaning against the wall with smug grin.

"You're enjoying this dobe?"

"Oh slightly more than a lot teme."

"Now," Kushina put her hands together; "I am going to make us some lunch."

Sasuke only sighed as he slumped his head forward, seeing how Naruto's mother was already in the kitchen.

"I'll make you my special 'Kushina-Soba-noddles-with-chicken-breast-and-miso-roasted-tomatoes'!" The woman happily addressed before giving them both a warning look. "Trademark pending" She pointedly spoke.

"Wouldn't dream of stealing it..." Sasuke didn't bother to point out that dish already existed. He did point out though; "But I don't have half the things you want for that plate"

"That's okay!" She beamed, pulling out a scroll. "I always pack when I need it!" With a handsign, she unsealed a lot of ingredients.

"Respect for personal privacy is not among them I gather?" The young Uchiha deadpanned.

The redhead tapped her chin in thought; "Think Mi-Chan brought that up once," she shrugged as she went about cooking… Much to Sasuke's annoyance. Was this seriously going to be a reoccurring thing? Oh who the hell was he kidding? Of course it was.

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

Sitting outside in the courtyard the trio ate under one of the trees. As much as he hated to admit, not that he'll ever say it out loud, Sasuke did like Kushina's cooking. Might not be how his mother had made their meals, but a close second.

"Mmm~!" Kushina makes a delighted sound as she tastes her own food. "Isn't this nice? Spending time with people you hold dear-"

"Wrong" Sasuke quickly replied.

"Like?"

"Try again"

"Tolerate?"

"Better"

"...You're a stick in the mud you know that?"

Naruto laughed out loud, his mother's bluntness could be so hilarious sometimes. Still though, the blond Uzumaki had noticed a small change within his teammate. He couldn't place what it was exactly, but Sasuke seemed more approachable. He wasn't as closed off as he used to be. He wondered if was because of his mom?

The Uchiha did talk slightly more than his usual grunts.

And not once did Naruto ever think he be inside the Uchiha compound. Usually when she was alive Aunt Mikoto came to visit him when she could.

It just occurred to him how lucky he's been, how many blessing he's received in the recent times. He had been alone for so long, but now... now he had friends, he had a family, and a legacy to live up to.

But Sasuke was still alone... Sasuke who had everything stolen from him from someone whom he once held so dear.

It just occurred to Naruto how much it must have been hurting Sasuke on the inside, to see someone recover what they had lost, in spite of all odds. While every day he returned to empty home with no one to greet him. Mikoto was gone, his father was gone, countless relatives and kinsmen were gone.

It was then that Uzumaki realized just how much pain Sasuke always hid behind a mask of stoic-ness.

 _'Is that why,'_ Naruto gaze shifted to his mom chattering up the annoyed looking Uchiha heir while eating. _'Kaasan knew-'_ His cerulean soon narrowed along with his mother's violet and Sasuke's onyx as a dense fog slowly crept around.

 _'The hidden mist jutsu,'_ all three quickly stood with a kunai at the ready. _'Is one of the Kiri-nin doing this?'_ Haku and company had yet to leave, and the Mizukage had left a few of her ninja to help the village. Just who-?

"So it is true," A calm monotone male voice spoke hidden in the mist. "You really are alive Kushina-sama..."

Both his mother and Sasuke gasped at the sound of that voice. Their chocked breaths not only carried shock, but also recognition, for they knew that voice very well. Even though to Kushina it was different, much deeper, older, than last she's heard it; she was able to recognize it.

Steps were heard from within the courtyard, the limited visibility stops them from finding the source with their eyes, but as the steps grow louder, their heads snapped at the direction from where they were coming from.

From the mist, a dark figure appears. Adorned in a sinister black cloak with red clouds along with a large straw hat with white tassels, these and the large collar hid any discernible features.

A long sleeved arm rose, black polished nails stand out from amidst the whiteness of the mist, as a hand grabs the hat and slowly removes it.

Straight dark hair, a slashed Konoha headband, lines under his eyes... two Sharingan eyes.

Sasuke knew that face very well; it was a face he saw nearly every day whenever he closed his eyes. His teeth gnashed together in rage as his Sharingan instinctively activated. His entire being flooded with killing intent filled with the deepest of hates.

Kushina too knew that face, and just like the voice that belonged to that person, she too recognized it despite being much older.

"Itachi..." She couldn't stop the inflection in her voice as she saw the young man she remembered as little boy beside his mother. Naruto noticed his mother's hands trembled ever so slightly. "W-why are you here?" Kushina tried to steel her voice as best she could upon seeing her nephew in all but blood.

"We are here for business Kushina-sama," Itachi kept his eyes focused on the Uzu redhead; "At best I do not want to fight you, however given the nature of our visit you might object strongly." His eyes pan to Naruto; "We are here for you Naruto."

All three looked owly-eyed till something Itachi had said got Naruto's attention; "We?"

Soon a towering figure slowly came through from the fog making the trio tense up more; "Man whoever made this is a fucking good cook!"

It was then that they noticed this other figure had come out from the direction of Sasuke's house. Just like Itachi, he was wearing a dark cloak with red clouds, and had a large weapon wrapped in bandages, it had a long handle with a small carved skull at the handles end.

The man was... blue. His skin literally was blue along with messy blue hair, the markings under his blank beady eyes resembled gills, couples with the sharp teeth on his mouth gave him the looks of what could only be described as a sort of shark-man. On his forehead was a slashed hitai-ate from Kiri.

The description fit perfectly with the reports, Kushina knew who this person was. "Kisame Hoshigaki, the Monster of the Hidden Mist..."

In his hands he held a bowl and chopsticks, munching on some of the lunch Kushina had prepared. "Are there any spices around here? Don't get me wrong, it's great. But I like my meals with a little extra something" The trio blinked before face faulting; "Adding Jalapenos never fails," Kisame smiled showing his shark-like teeth while Itachi only sighed at his partner's antics.

"Focus Kisame."

"Oh I'm focused alright, focused on the fact I haven't eaten a goddamn thing since breakfast and I am hungry damn it!" The former Kiri Nin chowing joyfully into the food; "I could eat this stuff all day. Who made it?" the shark man queried brightly and Kushina numbly lifted up her hand; "Damn, so not only are you a bad ass Kunoichi. Your sexy as hell and you know how to cook, how you feel about dating guys formally from Kiri?"

Naruto and Kushina face faulted, (again), with a deadpan from Itachi. "Uh, sorry but I don't have a thing for fish-people..."

Kisame looked offended, and pointed his (stolen) chopsticks at her. "Hey, so said my dad, yet here I am"

"I see" The Uzumaki matriarch said in a doubtful which clearly meant she didn't see at all. The shark-man shrugged and continued eating... and just now did Kushina realize he had stolen some of the food she had so kindly made for her son and Sasuke.

She quickly shook her head; this wasn't the time or place to get distracted. Itachi was here, and Sasuke was pouring out so much killing intent he could most likely kill an elderly person or someone with a heart condition just with it.

"Itachi Uchiha..." He seethed with rage. "You have such a nerve coming back here, where you butchered your own family!" His fists shook. "Traitor, kin-slayer!" He bellowed with loathing.

Itachi did not react at his hate-filled words, Kisame just chew on the chicken before he uttered with a quip. "He cheats at cards too"

Kushina knew she needed to do something before Mikoto's youngest boy did something completely stupid, like charging at a much superior opponent without thinking.

By what Jiraiya had told her, Itachi was now a member of the freelance organization known as Akatsuki, acting as their spy. She had to swallow the bitter anger rising up at the thought of her nephew in spirit being used yet again after all he's been through. Their goals were inconclusive, reports showed they acted as mercenaries for the highest bidder, but Itachi's info had told them long ago they were interested in the Biju... they were interested in her son.

She needed to clear things up with Itachi to cooperate with her on this, she needed answers. He was always a smart boy, a simple message would do.

She brought up her hands and did a series of handsigns. Kisame tensed immediately, gulping down his food as he threw away his bowl and reached his blade's handle.

Itachi merely observed the movement of her hands; they were deliberately slow, though he could only tell thanks to his Sharingan. This wasn't a technique; it was a code Konoha still used to relay information. A bit outdated, but the message was clear.

 _'I know'_

Hmm, so she had been told the truth. He honestly wasn't surprised at that. "Kisame, I shall deal with Kushina-sama," the tone of his partner's voice got the for Kiri Nin's attention and nodded as he smirked over towards Sasuke and Naruto.

"Well brats that leaves you two with me. Let's have some fun eh?" Naruto formed another kunai out of crystal which got Kisame to whistle; "I'll be damned, so you do have a Kekkai Genkai like I heard. Now this will be fun."

Kushina could see Sasuke was having none of that; he looked ready to charge at Itachi in a fit of homicidal rage. Her violet eyes quickly locked with Itachi's for a moment, and that was all the time the elder Uchiha needed.

Before her eyes the image of a spinning Sharingan flashed, and then there was darkness.

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

The darkness was only momentarily, almost like having your eyes closed for a couple of seconds. For when she opened them, she was no longer in Konoha.

There was grass underneath her feet, gently rustling with the wind. Surrounded by mountains, she could see the edge of the earth stretching until it met the sea.

A sea surrounded by whirlpools.

"Uzushio," Kushina quietly whispered as she gazed over the island nation where she was born.

"Apologizes," she sharply turned at the sight of Itachi who stood a bit away; "You always spoke of about your homeland when I was little. I felt this would help you remain calm."

"Re-" The redhead shook her head; "Remain calm, Itachi... Was Mikoto a part of that coop?"

"Mother was aware of what father and the others were conspiring to do against the village. However she did not have the will to stop it. While not outwardly showing it, mother was suffering strong bouts of depression."

Kushina's heart ached at those words; "Depression?"

"You were dead" Itachi did not beat around the bush. Always the direct one as she remembered... "And she was left alone in a clan where her voice did not matter, she watched as everything crumbled around her because she simply had no reason to go on"

So insightful, Itachi had been born a wise old man in a young man's body. But the redhead wondered if that truly was a good thing sometimes.

"The best she could do was smile for Sasuke's sake and mine" His voice betrayed no emotion, which lead Kushina to ponder just for how long had Itachi had to hide it all away, all his pains and burdens. "But in the end, she was alone with a man she never loved in a marriage chosen for her long ago. Whatever the clan ordered, she obeyed for she no longer had the strength to do otherwise... I think she welcomed the end I delivered to her"

Kushina bit her lip, her hands twitched and trembled. A surge of tears threatened to burst through like a broken dam. For a brief moment, Itachi's eyes shifted and his gaze became solemn, for once showing the grief he carried due to his actions all those years ago.

"I think she never forgot you... Mother never stopped l-"

He softly gasped in surprise as the Uzumaki's body collided with his, eyes widening as Kushina tightly wrapped her arms around him. Kushina sniffed, unable to hold back her tears. She cried for Mikoto, for Sasuke, for Itachi... She couldn't imagine the pain he had gone through. Turned into a puppet in a power play, forced to choose a side only for him to slaughter his own kin. His own parents...

Itachi had gone far and beyond the call of a loyal ninja. Too far, Kushina thought. She cursed it all. She cursed Fugaku and his ambition; she cursed the Uchiha and their worthless pride. She cursed this fucking shinobi system which could only ruin lives...

And so she hugged him, because after all he's been through; being labeled 'traitor' and 'kin-slayer' for protecting his village. The little boy who would call her 'aunt' deserved a moment, no matter how short, to show him he wasn't alone, there were people who still cared for him.

Itachi did not move in the slightest. He... had no idea how to react in this situation.

Slowly letting go Kushina tearful gaze looked into Itachi's blank orbs; "What can I do?" she nearly whispered.

Itachi shook his head; "I am in far too deep with my cover within the Akatsuki. I should also mention Kisame is also working for the Sandaime as a spy for us… Well, not exactly. I informed him the true intentions behind Akatsuki. He was… more than a little displeased. So he just follows me around. He is an ally." That made the Uzu woman looked visibly surprised; "He can be eccentric at best, but he can be trusted."

Kushina nodded as she rubbed her eyes; "I'm sorry I wasn't there..."

"You were indisposed... And by that I mean that we all believed you were dead. But that seems not to be the case" Itachi drew a curious gaze at her.

Kushina sighed. "It was a hasty split-second decision, lack of people we could tell at the moment, the Nine Tails rampaging, the circumstances were just terrible. Suffice to say it involved a scroll with a one-in-a-hundred chance it could work"

"I see" The older of the Uchiha siblings mused and left it at that.

"Why are you here, Itachi?" She gently questioned.

"Mostly to confirm if the rumors about you being true" He replied. "I am thankful that they were" There was a hint of relief in his voice. "You've been taking care of Sasuke" He noted.

"For Mikoto I would," Kushina stated resolute in her tone. Now she gave her nephew in spirit a stern gaze; "Why is the Akatsuki after my son?"

* * *

 **XxX ~ at that same moment ~ XxX**

* * *

"Mom!" Naruto quickly dashed forward seeing his mother and Itachi. Sasuke also follow till both grunt painfully as they were smack hard with the flat side of Kisame's strange blade.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," the former Kiri nin playfully chided as both youngsters slammed into a wall with enough force making craters; "Let miss hottie and Itachi be kiddos. I'll play with ya till they're done."

Sasuke and Naruto both groaned as they hit the ground but slowly rose with fury in their eyes. The blond Uzumaki spat out some blood as he seethed; "Get out of my way you overgrown sushi!"

Kisame held his chest and gave a mocking hurtful expression before guffawing; "Or what brat?"

"Or we will make you move," Sasuke's doujutsu flared hatefully as he glared over towards his brother.

Kisame never lost his mirthful smirk; "By all means brats, show me what you got."

And so he did Sasuke leapt with all the strength his leg muscles would allow. His fist raised and poised to attack, he closed the distance between himself and the missing-nin of Kiri in what seemed a second. He'd get through this man in instant so he could face his real target.

And then Kisame backhanded him, knocking back so far his back collided with the walls of the house, which upon impact they cracked. Naruto could only stare at his teammate in shock at how easily he had been thrown like a rag-doll. Sasuke fell on all fours, groaning in pain as his body exploded with agony.

"Right" The blue skinned man drawled. "Guess I shouldn't expect much of a couple of kids who are still green. Even if they are an Uzumaki and an Uchiha"

Naruto growled in fury; "Don't you dare look down on us!"

"Merely stating the facts, boy" Kisame said, his tone quite laid back. It only made Naruto angrier that this guy didn't even consider them a threat in the least. "Come on, facing off against someone like me at your level" He clicked his tongue. "Think you still have a thing or two to learn"

For a millisecond, cerulean turned crimson which did not go unnoticed by Kisame who only smirked as he gave a hand gesture for Naruto to come at him. Growling, Naruto blurred as his enemy lifted his large weapon blocking a large red crystal sword that looked quite familiar to the shark man.

"OH! Been a while since I've seen Kubikiribōchō," Kisame whistled seeing how finely detailed the crystal sword resembled the original; "You Uzumakis can be deadly with kenjutsu, how about a lesson for free."

It might have been in moments, but with Sasuke's eyes he saw the former Kiri Nin slash through and shatter Naruto's crystal sword like it was cheap glass. But not done yet, a large sandal hit Naruto's chest dead on via a roundhouse courtesy of Kisame.

The force sent the blond flying hard into wall, having the same results Sasuke had moments ago. "A long way to go for both of you," Kisame rest his strange blade on his shoulder; "Talented, oh hell yes, but you're still rookie Genin."

Naruto coughed violently, a small trail of drool and blood ran down from the corner of his mouth. "Okay... this might a bit harder than I thought," he wheezed out. Defeating Gaara had been a hell of an ego boost. But he had to remind himself he had a lot of help that day.

"I don't care!" Sasuke seethed. "He stands before me and my revenge!" Lightning began crackling on his hand; it gave of a sound akin to many birds in flight. "So he dies!"

Sasuke once more charged at him, shouting as he did so. Kisame placed his bandaged blade in front of him to act like guard, but Sasuke did not care. His Chidori had pierced through Gaara's defense, a mere weapon like that would be no match.

The lightning struck the blade, bandages tearing and burning at the site of impact. His Sharingan eyes widened as he felt his technique... weakening?

In his hand the lightning grew dimmer, shrinking in size as if something was siphoning off its power. Yes, he could see it. His Sharingan allowed him to witness as the chakra left his technique and entered the blade.

Kisame grinned and with swing of his arm he pushed the young Uchiha away with his blade, but not strong enough as to leave any lasting damage. Sasuke spun in the air and managed to land on his feet next to Naruto, both teammates just stared in shock at what had transpired.

"What the-" The blonde Uzumaki stared stupefied. "How did...?"

"Hehehehe" The tall shark man chuckled, showing all of his sharp teeth. "My Samehada is one of The Seven Swords of the Mist. The most feared of all the blades, for your see" He showed them the side of the blade which Sasuke struck, to their further surprise, it was no metal what laid beneath the bandages, but a series of downward-facing scales. "This sword can consume chakra"

 **"Plus the physical damage if those scales struck,"** Kurama chimed in; **"He'd shred you to ribbons with one shot."**

Naruto snarled but he knew the old fox was right. Beside him Sasuke glowed with rage as his sharingan eyes burned with sheer fury at the tall smirking swordsman.

"Kisame," the trio turned as Itachi suddenly leaped out of the courtyard; "Our mission is done."

At that, the Kiri swordsman snorted; "Already? And here I wanted to fight the Red Death. Bah…" Shrugging he shunshined via water.

"ITACHI!" Sasuke was about to pursue, until he was grabbed by Kushina's steely grip.

"Another time little brother, Naruto-san." the older Uchiha also soon vanished via shunshin.

"You can't go after him," the redhead said sternly as she held onto the angry Uchiha.

"I had him! He was right here!" Naruto looked wide eyed as his mother slapped his teammate's cheek harshly.

"Had him?!" Kushina snapped with outraged eyes. "His teammate could have killed you a hundred times over and you think you 'had him'?!"

Sasuke just stood there; his expressions were a mix of anger, humiliation, frustration, pain. Naruto could see how it was all too much for the younger Uchiha. Sasuke looked about ready to explode, seeing his brother again, being held back like he was nothing and then easily dismissed as if he wasn't worth anyone's time... it was all too much for him.

He snarled, turning away from the Uzumaki woman as he jumped over the wall and further away from his residence. He needed to get away from... everything.

"Sasuke!" Naruto called out to him in concern.

Kushina sighed; her son noticed she looked so... wary. Her eyes carried great pain and grief, almost like she was ready to cry. Her shoulders sagged, burdened.

The Jinchuuriki stood conflicted, on one hand he couldn't leave his mother like that. But Sasuke... He knew his mother was strong; she could deal with whatever was happening to her, and could always see if he could help her another time. But Sasuke couldn't, he needed to be there for his friend.

"I need to go after him..."

Kushina did not look at him, but merely nodded stiffly. "Go"

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

A light breeze flowed through one Konoha's training grounds. Normally this would bring a since of calm for some, until they'd hear a loud war cry ring out as one the many trees surrounding the area descended harshly to the ground.

Glaring ahead, princess Maiyuri grips the hilt of her sword as her father's words rang in her head. _"It can't be wrong, wanting a better life for my people can't be a childish dream"_ She thought fiercely.

There had to be a way, a way to bring the nations together, to finally put an end to all this senseless bloodshed!

…And yet, Maiyuri could find none.

One way or another, in her attempts to save her people, there would war. Not everyone would want peace.

Maybe she was just a child, reaching for impossible ideals that would only end up hurting her and others…

"Sasuke, wait up damn it!" Blinking, Maiyuri turned her head to see the last of Uchiha and young Uzumaki both had landed into the training ground.

"I don't want to hear it, just leave me alone Naruto," Sasuke glared towards his teammate

That earned a dry glare from the blond; "Yeah not happening, not while you're like this."

About to scream, the clearing of a throat catches the young teenagers' attention. It was then that the young boys noticed they weren't alone in the field. The princess stood there with a raised brow, dressed in her white short skirted tunic tied with a black sash, along with her black leather arm and leg guards, instead of her more traditional hakama. Coupled with the katana held in her grip, it was clear that she was here for training.

"Uchiha-san, Uzumaki-san" The soft pink haired royal greeted them with a nod each.

Naruto stammered in surprise, "Maiyuri-hime!" He promptly gave a short bow, remembering the proper etiquette when dealing with the nobility.

Sasuke didn't look like he cared much for formalities right now, but he too bowed for a moment. Before turning and moving further away from his teammate.

"Hey wait up!" Naruto exclaimed. "Look Sasuke, I know you're upset-"

Sasuke stopped in his tracks. "'Upset'?" The blonde bit back a curse, knowing he screw up. Then again, he was pretty sure anything would trigger Sasuke today.

Maiyuri merely watched on with wide eyes at the sheer level of anger in the Uchiha's voice. Just what had happened to get him this way?

"No, Naruto" Sasuke's voice seemed calm, his rage was no longer seething in hot anger like before, but now it had been replaced with an equally strong cold frigid fury. "I am something far more than 'upset'"

"Okay you're pissed off, but we're not ready to face guys like those two," Naruto finally had gotten that just from Kisame sending him into the wall again and shattering his Kyuubi charged crystal sword like it was firewood.

"I don't care about rank, I could have ended it right there."

"Really?" that earned a deadpan from the blond; "and what ass kicking were you watching? That shark dude wasn't even trying. He was playing around."

 _'Shark dude,'_ Maiyuri mentally filed that in for later as she listened on.

"But he was there" Sasuke hissed through his teeth. "He was right there and I... and I couldn't a fucking do anything"

"And what would you have done?" The Uzumaki prompted. "Just... charge at him and hope to kill him?"

The princess couldn't be any more confused.

"Anything!" The dark haired boy snapped. "I don't care what; I just want it to end it!" He spoke with desperation in his voice.

"You say that as if either of us could have actually done anything" Naruto reprimanded. "Look, I know it's odd coming from me, but just charging head on without thinking will get you killed. I understand what you're going through-"

"No" The words weren't spoken with the same force of before, yet they stopped Naruto all the same. "You don't know what it is. To have suffered at the hands of someone you... you..." He couldn't even say the words. "And to be powerless while you lose it all. To spend day after day being reminded of it, to feel so powerless..." His fists shook as he clenched them.

Naruto looked offended at that. "I don't understand? You think you're the only one who has suffered? I've been alone for-"

"Are you alone now?"

Naruto's breath was caught in his throat.

"Your mother is back" The Uchiha said with grief and jealousy. "You found your relatives; you still have a clan, a family..." He looked at him in the eye, and Naruto saw all the pain and loneliness he once felt being reflected back on him... Yet that pain lingered in him no longer.

Naruto had been blessed more than any person could ever hope for... but fortune hadn't smiled on Sasuke any single day. For all his skills and potential, Sasuke didn't have anything of true worth in his life.

"Naruto," the raven haired boy could not stop the inflection in his tone; "Believe me when I say I am glad that you're no longer alone. Believe me I am, but there is no one waiting for me when I get home. My mother, my father, family who I treasured more than I ever admitted. And I will regret every day I never told how much they had all meant to me."

The blond said nothing as his teammate breathed heavily; "That's why I can't rest till that bastard is dead."

The Uzumaki wanted to say he understood, he thought he did. If there was one person he hated most of all in the world, it was that masked man who struck the night of his birth, unleashing Kurama and lying great devastation to their village.

The man was responsible for the life he had lead as a Jinchuuriki, but above all else, that man was responsible for the death of many, including his own father.

Naruto hated that man, he hated him more than he thought possible to hate someone... but he couldn't put a face to him, not the way his mother could. A 'face' not in the sense of identity, but rather something he could truly hate on a personal level. Right now the masked man was more of a concept to him, as he was someone he had never met.

His mother truly hated that person, she hated him with the intensity of the sun, and her hatred was pure. Focused. With a clear target.

The focus of Sasuke's hatred... that was another tragedy in itself, as the face which belonged to the object of his hatred was none other than the face of someone whom he had once loved more than any other.

"But you're not alone," Naruto said quietly. "Ever since mom met you she has been visiting you when not busy."

"Because she was a friend to my mother."

The blond shook his head; "She's not doing out of obligation and you know it. Mom cares about you; your team cares about you. However way you see me, you are my friend."

The Uchiha didn't know how reply. It was true that lately that pain, while it hadn't eased, had become more... bearable. Kushina pestered him night and day, but he couldn't deny there was warmth to her actions, the kind one felt when another person cared for you.

He honestly couldn't remember last time someone had cared for him like that.

And his teammates? The ones who opened up to him and invited him to be part of something greater, something crazy and obnoxious yet welcoming and filled with a sense of camaraderie.

He didn't admit it out loud, but he felt at home with them. They provided a sense of belonging which he lacked.

He just wished he wouldn't feel so impotent in the face of Itachi, how his struggles to catch up to those stronger than him felt like trying to swim against the violent currents of an endless ocean. He felt weak, and he hated that feeling. He hated the thought that whenever something came to take that which he cared about he would be unable to do anything once again.

Sasuke's eyes solemnly fell to the ground, and Naruto let a heavy long dragged out breath. For now, they had said all they wanted to say.

Maiyuri had stood awkwardly in the sidelines, baring witness to their exchange. It had all been so sudden, shocking, and confusing that she couldn't even leave to give them space.

The silence was turning unbearable, so she cleared her throat. It was then that the young ninja realized that she was still present, much to their embarrassment. "This may be none of my business" She quipped tactfully. "But, are you alright Uchiha-san? To say you appear shaken is a massive understatement. What happened?"

Uh, the raven haired teen scratched his head before eyeing his blond teammate who looked wide eyed at him. Finally he sighed; "A long story Maiyuri-hime."

"Perhaps I could help in some manner, help take your mind off things."

That made the Uchiha raise a brow; "Like?"

"A friendly spar, with both of you." Both young teen look wide eyed; "What?"

"Um, wouldn't your dad like," Naruto looked several shades pale; "cut our heads off for hitting you?" Sasuke also thought the same thing but kept quiet.

"What my father does not know" She replied in a somewhat salty tone. "Does not hurt him" With a complete tonal shift, her lips form a smile. "Besides, it's a simple spar. I spar with a lot of people"

"Hmm" Naruto scratched his head, still unsure on how to proceed. Well, she did say it'd be alright. Sides, from what he heard the princess was all kinds of badass, and he wouldn't say no to a fight with a strong opponent. That and he really needed to unwind after today's horrible affair.

Sasuke, for his part, had briefly mused on the whole spar just for taking his mind off things. But then his eyes subtly widened as he remembered something.

The princess was called strong, on the same level as him.

He needed to know if that was true, he needed to know how much of a gap lay before him and his objective.

"Maiyuri-hime" Sasuke took a step forward, speaking in a respectful tone. "I accept your proposal" He bows slightly. "But I ask one thing from you"

She raised a regal brow. "Which is?"

"Don't go easy on me" His request surprised both his teammate and the royal. "I want to face you seriously"

Maiyuri was understandably taken aback. "Why is that?"

"Because others said you are... on his level" He looked at her in the eye, his posture humble yet his words proud even in his request. The boy was an Uchiha, alright.

Though he didn't spoke the name, Maiyuri suddenly understood. "I see..." She paused momentarily. "Your brother was here, wasn't he?"

Sasuke's body stiffened, but he nodded nonetheless.

The princess closed her eyes, meditated about his petition for a brief moment. When she opened them, soft green eyes looked at them with great intensity.

"Very well" Sheathing her blade, Maiyuri took on a stance; thrusting her palm forward and having it face up. "Come on"

He needed to understand.

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

Time itself felt still within the Hokage's office, pure disbelief and slight terror shone in both Hiruzen's and Jiraiya's eyes as Kushina stood in front of the desk, her expression grave. Even the ANBU hidden in the room froze as their former captain had barreled in started speaking of her encounter with Itachi and Kisame within Konoha.

But when she uttered that name...

"...Madara Uchiha," Sarutobi nearly dropped his pipe from his mouth from uttering that name before taking several calming breaths; "A bold claim that I highly doubt."

"Itachi feels the same," Kushina agreed; "For all he knows this guy could be anyone with an implanted Sharingan." But still, Tobi... She finally had a name to the bastard that ruined her family's life.

Jiraiya also grunted as he crossed his arms; "And the Akatsuki were more of threat than even I thought."

"Itachi went to great lengths to figure out his plan" The redhead sighed, massaging the bridge of her nose. "It's just absolutely bonkers. A Ten-Tailed beast..."

The words once more sent a shiver of dread down the older ninja's spines. "It's just like Gamamaru-sama said" The Toad Sage muttered. "The beast the Sage of Six Paths and his brother defeated"

"The monkeys once told me that tale long ago" Hiruzen spoke with wariness. "I never paid it much mind before; the affairs of the present always took greater priority. But now that maniac seeks to bring back a piece of history that should be left forgotten"

Jiraiya once more was reminded of the Elder Toad's words before, the past once thought lost returning... If he hadn't been told about that age then he'd be sure this Tobi's plans regarding this Jūbi creature was what the great sage had foretold. But alas, Jiraiya was certain there was more going on. Regardless, Tobi was a threat and he had to be dealt with.

"Did Itachi tell you anything else?" Hiruzen prompted.

"Yes..." Kushina's voice wavered; making both men pause as her tone became filled with grief. "Itachi... he..." Her fists clenched tightly and she bit her lips.

Both Kage and Sannin softly gasped when tears welled up in her eyes.

"He's sick," She nearly whispered but audible; "my nephew is dying..."

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

 _"So let me get this straight" Kushina slowly responded. "You were planning on making Sasuke devoted to killing you by horrifically torture him psychologically with a fucking genjutsu."_

 _Itachi considered himself a composed person, very calm and serene, able to keep his calm on the direst situations... But the look Kushina was giving him made the hairs on the back of his neck rise._

 _"Essentially"_

 _The redhead took a deep breath... and then smacked him in the head so hard the earth crumbled beneath them and dust picked up like a cloud. Now, on any other situation, that would have hurt. But as they were in her mindscape, meaning everything that happened there wasn't real in the physical sense, it did not. Thankfully._

 _The redhead then picked him up and snarled much in the manner of a dragon. "Why the fuck did you think that was a good idea?!" Grabbing Itachi by the collar she shook him collar angrily; "You and I both know about the dangers of your dōjutsu. You would have turned Sasuke into a murderous vengeful lunatic!"_

 _By the gods what the hell was wrong with him?!_

 _"I..." Hmm, so this was a strange thing. Being at a loss for words was not something that happened to him often. "Sasuke needs to kill me"_

 _"WHY?!" Kushina cried out incredulously._

 _"So the sins of the Uchiha can die with me and Sasuke may redeem the clan"_

 _The Uzumaki could only stare at him, mouth gaping, she blinked several times. "...That is the stupidest thing I've ever heard" She let go of him, too astounded to actually hit him again. "I-I can't" She groaned into her hands. "I can't believe what I'm hearing"_

 _"I thought Sasuke would become more focused if I motivated him enough to hate me"_

 _Kushina raised a pair of fingers to stop him. "Or, and hear me out on this, OR" She growled through her teeth. "You would have turned him into a raving murderous psychopath!"_

 _"...That was also a possibility" Itachi was forced to acknowledge._

 _"Oh good gods, Itachi..." Kushina threw her head back, letting out a long suffered groan. "And you're supposed to be a genius! Guess that means when it comes to common sense, geniuses are just really dumb people who have no idea about how normal people behave"_

 _The spy suddenly felt like he was four again, and was being scolded._

 _It was then that Kushina gave him a new piercing gaze. "You have the Mangekyō don't you?"_

 _"I do"_

 _She rolled her eyes, briefly raising her arms and letting them fall in exasperation. "And suddenly everything makes sense. Itachi, you are NOT thinking straight. And I think you haven't been for a long time" Before he could even defend himself Kushina flicked him right in the forehead while glaring at him; "Don't you dare give me some weak excuse, young man."_

 _"...Yes ma'am..."_

 _"The Mangekyō, any advanced stated of the Sharingan, cause imbalances with the brain chemistry. It can lead to irrational behavior and thought process, in worse cases extreme paranoia and psychosis. Not to mention the blindness," Rarely in a long time had Itachi shown surprise in his expressions; "Seriously, don't give me that look; your mother was my best friend. She told me everything about that dōjutsu."_

 _With a small sigh Itachi nodded; "I try to use it as sparingly as possible."_

 _"Not enough considering your dumb ass idea for wanting Sasuke to kill you," Kushina retorted bluntly._

 _"There was also another reason..." Now came the truly hard part. "I am… dying."_

 _Suddenly, everything stopped. The rustling of the grass, the roar of the whirlpools, everything stopped moving, freezing in place like in a picture._

 _"What?" Her voice was barely a whisper._

 _"I'm not sure how long I have left, a year, perhaps two" Itachi shook his head; there was no urgency in his voice, just mere acceptance. "If I'm going to die anyway at least I'll make sure Sasuke goes through a better path than the one I walked... at least, I thought I knew how" Those last words were filled with regret._

 _"No" Kushina slowly shook her head, eyes wide with disbelief. She refused to believe what she was hearing. After everything he went through, oh gods please not this, not this too. "No, no, no, no" Her face was horror struck. "No, please no" She grabbed him by the shoulders, shaking him. "You can't, you j-just can't-" She couldn't even say the words. Kushina cried out in grief at the injustice of it all._

 _Seeing her breaking down like this, it stirred pain and lament inside his heart. "It's alright" He tried to say soothingly. "I've accepted it, and I have no regrets about my life"_

 _His words only made her cry harder._

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

Kushina let out a chocked breath; she ran her thumb under her eyes, clearing away her tears.

Hiruzen and Jiraiya could only look at her with horror-struck expressions. "Fucking hell..." The Sannin cursed. "Itachi... there is no justice"

The Hokage could feel his regrets re-surging, becoming stronger than ever.

The Uzumaki matriarch sniffed, futilely trying to stop the tears by running her palms over her cheeks. Her heart ached in agonizing grief. After all Itachi had been through, his life couldn't end on this note, hated by his brother and haunted by the world. She couldn't allow it. She would not allow it.

But Kushina knew there were only a few things she could do... There was only one person who could save Mikoto's boy.

"Tsunade..." She muttered. "We need my mother, we need to find her immediately, and she can save him. She can save Itachi" She gazed at the two men pleadingly with tear filled eyes. "Please" Her voice sounded so weak, a sound which was simply wrong coming from her mouth.

"We will find her," The old Kage responded in a soothing tone. Now it was truly the time for his estrange student to return home. She had run away from the world long enough and her family needs her.

Jiraiya, though despite not being the most heartfelt type, came around the desk and hugged the crying redhead who did not resist the action as she buried her head in his chest. She gripped his shirt so tightly her knuckles were white. _'No more running hime. You're coming home no matter how many times you kick my ass.'_

Just seeing Kushina like this made his stomach knot up.

"I am not losing Itachi," Kushina's eyes became steely and resolute; "Minato, Mikoto; I am not losing anyone else. So whenever you're going to find my mother I am coming along." She let go of the old sage to gaze at him.

And just like Jiraiya figured, "You got it. Was planning on asking Naruto and that Karin girl to look for her, knew you would regardless"

Taking several calming breathes, Kushina looked back to the old Kage; "There is more. And it concerns Danzo."

That had gotten both Hiruzen's and Jiraiya's attention.

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

 _She didn't know how long she was crying, or how long it took her to calm down. Time seemed to have no meaning in this place. But Itachi gave her all the time she needed, he let her recover._

 _Well, 'recover' was not the right word. But there still something Itachi needed to tell her, something he should have told anyone a long time ago. But didn't because of fear of what that person might do to Sasuke._

 _"Danzo?" Kushina replied astonished. "H-He just... took Shisui's eye?" She couldn't understand it. Already trying to grasp Shisui had had in his possession such a powerful technique was baffling, but to hear the sheer idiocy on Danzo's part... "Did he want the coup to happen? It's almost like he was looking for any reason mistrust the Uchiha"_

 _"Danzo trusts no one, and his loyalty to the village is overshadowed by his own ambitions" The missing-nin addressed. "He claims to have the village's best interests in mind, but so far I have little reason to believe it"_

 _"And now he has in his possession what's probably the most powerful genjutsu in existence" Kushina murmured as she roughly ran her hands through her red locks. "Oh gods, the things he must have done with it. Bad enough he has that ROOT branch serving him. What else does he have in his control? The Shimura clan?"_

 _"Doubtful" Itachi denied. "From what I understand, Danzo no longer interacts with his clan"_

 _"I see" Kushina sighed before looking at her nephew with untold sadness. "Itachi... I am so sorry. For everything you went through and all-"_

 _"Lamenting what's in the past doesn't help me" The Uchiha cut her off, though not unkindly. "Right now, I need you to look after Sasuke" For a brief moment, his eyes softened, showing a very, very tired person who looked for older than he actually was. "Please"_

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

"Shisui's eye" Both men chorused in pure disbelief.

"Think we can all guess that bandage isn't covering old wounds on his face. And from what Itachi told me that genjutsu is more powerful than anything. Who knows who he had manipulated or controlled over the years while using that damn eye!"

Jiraiya rubbed his chin as he thought; "Danzo isn't an idiot. He'd have used that eye for certain situations that benefits his plans. No matter how long it took." He was a crafty old bastard.

A blurry image flashed before Hiruzen's eyes, he groaned softly and rubbed them.

ob̛è͡͝y̡͠

"You know..." Kushina mused as a thought occurred to her. "We still haven't found a lead on the 'ANBU' that let Sand and Sound in during the invasion" She gave Jiraiya a suspicious look. "And it's odd that Danzo didn't come to the village's defense"

Jiraiya's eyes widened at that declaration. "Are you saying...?" She didn't need to; everyone present was thinking the same thing. "...Oh that bastard"

Hiruzen immediately jumped to his former teammate's defense. "No, Danzo wouldn't betray us"

The two looked back at him as if he had grown a second head. "Uh, were you asleep when I told you that Danzo had literally ensured the Uchiha coup happened by forcing to get out of control"

Hiruzen felt a nagging sensation on the back of his head. The blurry image appeared once again.

ờ͜͝b͏̧̢̛͜ȩ̸̵̷͝y̡̨̛͏

"I know what Danzo is like to most people" He replied. "But I know he truly cares for this village"

"He doesn't give a shit for anyone here!" His student snapped back. "He only cares about his own power!"

It was true; Danzo had gone against his back numerous times...

The image flashed, spinning.

o͙b̓̉̅҉͉̗̩̱̭ͅe̶̘ͪỹ̟̙̐̍̚

...But he was too useful an asset to lost, "He is too valuable"

"You sound as if you don't believe it yourself" Kushina noted with concern. "Come on old man, with his actions in the past, it's more and more likely he betrayed us in the invasion"

Danzo had betrayed them...

Hiruzen fought back the headache forming as the image flashed with greater intensity.

...Danzo was loyal to the village.

Jiraiya shook his head in exasperation. "Just why are you defending him? It's clear as day, we need to arrest Danzo!"

Danzo had to be stopped...

A spinning trio of tomoe flashed intently, trying to reign in his line of thought.

Ọ̯̦̘̬͓͚̝͇̜̙̑ͤͥ̓̔͌ͨ͛̒ͤ̄͒̀̚B̀͒ͬ̂͗̓̓̈̀͏̦̲͇̗͓̪͚̫̬͕Ȩ̨̨̣̗̱̺̺͈̼̲̣̺̗̯̪͕͔̘̂̓̒ͩ̿̿̚͢Y̛̹͇̰̹̗̞̜̎̀ͨͭ͑ͨ̑̂͊͋͋ͦ̕

Danzo... Danzo had to...

"Old man?" Jiraiya asked in concern, noting how pale his teacher looked. Kushina too gave him worried look. The Hokage was sweating, his breathing was ragged.

"I... I..."

The headache grew unbearable, the presence in his mind clashed against his thoughts. The truth fighting against a foreign impulse installed upon his psyche. Hiruzen held his head on his hands as he stood, he screamed out in pain. One step forward and he stumbled, falling unto the floor.

"Old man!"

The last thing he saw was a blazing Sharingan before darkness overtook him.

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

Danzo's visible eye snapped open as he felt it. Kotoamatsukami had been broken.

"Pack everything you can quickly" He ordered his subordinates around him. "We're leaving"

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX ~ xx ~ XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

 _ **Coming up will be Act II!**_


	36. Godaime Hokage Act 2

_**Disclaimer**_ : We do not own Naruto

 _ **Co-Author and Beta**_ : Etheral-23

 **Chapter 36: Godaime Hokage Act II**

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* * *

Kabuto swore he could see the killer intent pouring throughout the room via his master who slowly paced about. It also did not help matters that Manda who also present and looked ready to devour both him and Orochimaru.

It has least been a several days since arriving back at one of their hideouts after the botched invasion of Konohagakure. The plan was brilliant in concept, but too many unknowns had come into play. And even with the month they had to readjust before the third stage, they just could not count for all the variables.

Never mind their 'supposed' aid within Konoha never acted like promised. _'This was a disaster_ ,' the medic-nin sighed.

Kabuto wasn't even sure he could return to Konoha as a spy, this event would make the peaceful village keep their guard up and tighten their security. His position was compromised, now that he had returned to his master's side.

The spectacle wearing shinobi nearly froze when he saw the calm rage in Orochimaru's snake-like eyes, a bead of sweat ran down his cheek. "Kabuto" He stood straighter at his name being spoken. "Did you manage to procure samples of Naruto-kun's blood?"

"Y-Yes" He nearly stammered. "I managed to sneak away some of his most recent blood samples from my hospital shifts. It's being analyzed as we speak"

"Good" Orochimaru spook, though by the tone of his voice he wasn't all too pleased as he should have been in other circumstances. "At least it is something"

The great snake's tail banged on the stone floor with such force it sent vibrations through the whole chamber. The oto-nin that stood outside the chamber could only tremble at the sheer killing intent emanating from the giant serpent. Their master enraged was far more than enough for them to give him space, and enraged Manda only made their deaths all the more likely just by being near.

 **"Do not give me that, Orochimaru!"** The strongest of the snakes growled. " **We were promised spoils of war, and a new nest for our clan!"** Manda raised his head higher, looking down on them with murder in his slit eyes. **"And now dozens of my kin are dead!"**

Orochimaru merely glanced at him with a bored expression. "There were too many unknowns and unforeseen variables that made themselves present. Princess Maiyuri, those highly skilled Uzumaki with the wolf and fox chiefs at their side, and Konoha's quick response to my attack which suggests they had been tipped off-"

 **"I care not for your excuses!"** Manda roared. **"How will you repay us for that mess you got us into?!"**

"I distinctively remember you agreeing on the chance of fighting Genryu once more"

The medic-nin swallowed hard as the great serpent lowered his head down to his summoner **;** **"Genryu is a blind fool. I could have killed him easily had it not been for that drunken old toad interfering."**

Orochimaru's expression did not change; "Resorting to excuses yourself Manda?" He got an angry hiss in response to his question.

 **"I am not weak like you humans."**

"So I have heard from you countless times before. Yet one dragon and toad proved your better."

Kabuto swore he felt the temperature in the room drop. Last thing they needed was his master and Manda fighting and destroying everything. **"I demand compensation for my kin's sacrifice"** The leader of the snakes growled, staring directly at Orochimaru's eyes.

"Demand;" Orochimaru's eyes narrowed. "After their failure you dare to make demands out of me?"

"' _ **Our**_ _ **failure**_ **'?!"** Manda's voice was like roaring thunder. **"How dare you...!"** His entire body trembled in barely contained rage. **"I should devour you so you learn your place!"**

Orochimaru solemnly stared at the purple snake before letting out a soft chuckle; "My place? Oh Manda, have you already forgotten? I am your master. Perhaps it is you who should remember his place"

For the longest time, dead silence hung in the room, till Manda raised his head back up with his eyes showing what looked like realization; **"No,"** the great serpent said calmly; **"I shall remember this day well."** Manda vanished in a puff of smoke.

A large breath he did not realize he was holding escaped from Kabuto. He adjusted his glasses as the snake Sannin sat down on a wooden chair by a table. Orochimaru rested his elbows on the table and joined his fingers before his face; it was hard for the medic-nin to tell what was going on his master's mind.

"Kabuto" Said the snake sannin. "How is Kimimaro's condition?"

The medic-nin grimaced. "It's getting worse every day. He doesn't have long"

The eyes of Oto's founder narrowed a fraction. "I see" It was a waste; Orochimaru had once planned to use his immortality technique to swap his body with Kimimaro's so he'd be in possession of his powerful Kekkei Genkai. Kimimaro's disease had changed all that.

That hadn't stopped him from looking up ways to heal his condition, Kimimaro was a tremendously powerful asset back when he was at his prime, yet his sickness weakened him every time it got worse.

Orochimaru weighted his options. Tayuya and Kidōmaru were all that was left of his Sound Four, the list of capable shinobi under his command had shortened drastically after their failure at Konoha, and he needed to have Kimimaro at top condition once again.

"We cannot afford to lose him as well. Make the preparations, Kabuto" He ordered, his eyes gleamed in the darkly lit room. "We're going to find the only one who can heal him"

* * *

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* * *

The rustle of leaves from the light breeze came through the training area as both Naruto and Sasuke stood in their respect Taijutsu stances. In front of them, princess Maiyuri also goes into her own combat stance with an unreadable expression.

"Before we start I will ask you again, do you truly wish for me to go all out?" The rosette haired royal asked seriously.

"Yes," Sasuke said without hesitation; "I need to know just how far the gap is."

The princess nodded as she eyed over to Konoha's Jinchurriki; "And you Uzumaki-san?"

"Wouldn't hurt to know right," the blond gave a shrug with a small smirk before turning serious. "Not much of a ninja if I can't protect my country's princess."

For a brief moment Maiyuri gave them a serene smile before reverting back to seriousness; "BEGIN!"

Without another word, the two young ninja dashed; and sprang into action in a blur of movement. Sasuke's Sharingan blazed to life while Naruto brought up his hands calling up five Shadow Clones.

The clones moved in faster, aimed to soften up the princess and get a measure of her close quarter skills. Maiyuri clenched a fist while holding her other hand in a firm open palm, her legs' stance widened and rooted. The first clone struck with a right hook, Maiyuri leaned back to avoid it and grabbed his hand, she twirled him over her shoulder to slam him into the ground.

Just as her back had turned another clone to his chance and jumped at her. But the princess's leg shot up and slammed right into his stomach just as she finished slamming the other clone, both clones vanished in two identical puffs of smoke at the same time.

A third clone attacked from the side, producing two crystal kunai as he lunged at her. Maiyuri adjusted her figure, with her hands already close to the ground she planted her palms and pushed, lifting into the air and avoiding the clone's strike. She curled into a ball, grasping her legs in front of her chest as she twirled. The clone couldn't even move in time as she drove her feet down, slamming unto the clone's back and vanishing.

The remaining two clones attacked from both sides, each holding blunt crystalline weapons. They shouted as they thrusted the staves. But Maiyuri held each end of the weapons before they could the sides of her abdomen.

The clones' blue eyes widened in surprise when their thrust lost all inertia, her hold was simply too strong. Not letting out for a moment, Maiyuri pulled the weapons, and the clones, towards her. They yelped as they were dragged forward while the princess moved backwards and directed their movement through her grip on their weapons so they would collide with one another, causing them to be dispelled into smoke.

All the while Naruto and Sasuke circled around the princess, looking for an opening. And couldn't help but be impressed at what they were seeing so far.

 _'No wasted movement at all,'_ the Uchiha keeping his eyes fixed on his opponent. Gazing to his teammate both nodded; _'Let's try it!'_ Both blur as the princess narrow her eyes.

Crossing her arms she caught Naruto's fist and Sasuke foot from their respected attacks. Neither hid their surprise as both had added some chakra for extra strength, but the princess did not show either strain or pain as gazed at both young teens.

"How are you so strong?" Naruto muttered.

"Lots of years of intense training with the fire monks since I was young. Most warriors focus more on physical superiority while ninja diversify into other fields" Maiyuri retorted with a summoned up version of the words she had used the other day at the hospital.

Sasuke wouldn't stay idle, he brought his hands together for a hand sign and- "Ugh!" He grunted in pain as his foot was twisted, forcing his body to turn, he held his hands on the grass so his face wouldn't hit the ground.

The blonde 'tch'ed in turn, tapping his foot on the ground once, he poured chakra and solidified into crystal, encasing his leg on the substance. With a cry, he slammed his leg on the princess's stomach... only for the frontal part of his shoton to shatter while Maiyuri remained unharmed.

"Okay, what are your abs made of, steel?"

"You too could acclimate your body to resist this physical punishment, you just need to go through the same training I did" She tightened her hold on them, Naruto grunted in pain as he was forced to one knee while Sasuke felt his ankle burn from the strain. The princess's green eyes looked down on them intensely. "I hit boulders with my bare hands, endured broken bones until it was the boulders finally broke at my blows. I held on as they hit my stomach, again and again, so my muscles would harden with time. I walked over fire and meditated under icy waterfalls to strengthen my mind and resolve. At this point, pain is an old friend"

A bit more pressure and a gasp of pain from the teens.

Maiyuri directed her gaze to Sasuke "If you seek to challenge your brother at this level" Her voice carried a challenge with the intent to provoke him. "Then you're a lifetime away from defeating him"

His eyes flashed with rage, he shouted. Fighting both pain and the princess's strength to pull away. He pushed himself from the ground and struck with his other foot. Maiyuri ducked and let go of his foot, watching as Sasuke soared free. He went through a series of handsigns in the air and spit constant stream of fire at her.

"I'm still here you asshole!" Naruto shouted that fire would have gotten him as well. To his shock, the princess pushed him away with her prodigious strength and took a stance.

With her arms crossed over her head, Maiyuri channeled chakra in a constant streaming yet erratic motion, as if mimicking fire. When the flames collided, she thrust her arms to the side and the fire spread, licking at her arms but otherwise its flames were redirected. Sasuke landed next to his teammate, and the two young ninja watched in awe as she twirled, moving her arms in swift and strong motions, guiding the fire, making it move as she desired it.

It was almost like a dance, and the flames were her partner.

She planted her hand on the ground, directing the flames in wide circular arc, charring the grass around her. The fire quickly subsided as it spread more, just barely stopping before the two ninjas of Konoha.

Naruto only looked wide eyed as the blond finally blinked owlishly; "We have the most awesome princess ever..."

"H-how did you do that?" Even the raven haired boy couldn't help but be spellbound by Maiyuri's display.

Maiyuri remained in stance; "A very ancient way the monks had taught me through intense chakra manipulation."

"The monks can do that?" Naruto suddenly got starry eyed, imagining badass monks performing amazing feats of martial arts.

"Indeed. As my old master said; 'Unlike ninja, we don't brute force our way through techniques'"

The two young shinobi shared a look.

"As you can imagine, the monks do not like you people"

Sasuke grunted; feeling increasingly frustrated at how much of an advantage the princess had over them. Throughout the fight she kept a calm demeanor and a focused mind, each and every single one of her movements disabled their attacks. She was fast, so fast that while his Sharingan could see her movements, his body was nowhere near fast enough to intercept them, it was like fighting Lee. It was becoming clear to him that Maiyuri could end this fight in the blink of an eye if she so much desired.

The princess was taking this spar seriously as she had promised, but she was far from unleashing her true strength, she only retaliated as the situation demanded to stay one step ahead, nothing more, and nothing less.

And it enraged Sasuke so much, to see a gap so wide before him again...

His Sharingan eyes lowered to the weapon at her waist. "You haven't used your blade" He noted.

Maiyuri lifted an elegant eyebrow. "Suzaku? No" She shook her head as she patted the hilt. "I don't need it for this"

Both Genin lightly bristled till the princess spoke again; "I do not mean it as a slight against your skills. But I use my sword only in two occasions, against opponents capable of matching my blade, and against enemies of our nation. I see you both as comrades thus I shall not draw my sword."

Well that was good reason as far as Naruto ever heard one. His own kenjutsu skill was nowhere near close to take on the princess in a sword fight, of that he was sure. From the corner of his eye even Sasuke accepted that albeit begrudgingly. Thinking for a moment, Naruto goes through several hand seals as a dozen of crystal hummingbirds formed in the air.

With one more seal, his creations were sent flying towards her at great speeds. Yet the princess did not move, instead, she held her ground, her arms moving at blurring speeds striking down the hummingbirds with precision as the moment they got within striking distance, a pair of fingers laced with chakra was enough to shatter the crystalline constructs. The last one she did not break, she caught it in her hand and threw it right back at the Uzumaki.

Naruto yelped a quickly threw a kunai at the hummingbird, shattering it. He sighed in relief. That had been close…

"Prepare yourselves;" The princess advises. "Now I'll go on offensive"

"Oh..." Now did Naruto remember that so far, Maiyuri had stayed on defense; "I'm both excited and terrified"

For a brief moment, the princess smirked.

And then she moved.

The ground at her feet shattered with a burst of speed, wind, dust and fragments of earth scattering in the air. The princess was no longer in sight.

Fiercely the wind brushed against their faces, they gasped as time seemed to crawl to a halt, turning around they saw Maiyuri with her back turned to them. With a single leap she had cleared the distance.

Sasuke... hadn't even seen her move.

Naruto could only watch in shock, awed at the intense display of skill... also with how much the wind had picked up with her leap, plus her posture and how short her gi was, he could kind of see her pantie-

A swift slap to both their faces and both were flung through the air.

 _'Did it really worth the pain now knowing she likes red lace..?'_ Kurama only shook his head upon hearing his jailer's thoughts. Whatever mental process the blond had next had been halted by sheer pain as he slammed through not one but two trees.

A fate which was shared by Sasuke who screamed as he stopped via back hitting on the third. The ground shook as four trees fell to the earth as both Genin lie motionless on the ground. Maiyuri remained in stance; "Are you both conscious?" Her question was met with two pain filled moans; "I'll take that as a yes. You both have talent, and I don't say that because you are both Uzumaki and Uchiha. But because you both work incredibly hard to be as good as you are now."

Presently both young teens would have appreciated those words if they weren't racked by overwhelming pain.

"But you both are not ready to face someone of higher caliber at present. However I know you both shall make excellent warriors," She meant every word as Naruto and Sasuke slowly, painfully get onto their hands and feet; "And if you wish to protect me Naruto-san you will indeed have to train immensely."

The blonde groaned as he stood up, rubbing his neck. **"Well, how does humility feels like, boy?"** The fox teasingly asked. **"Painful, I imagine"**

 _'Tell me about it'_ He worked the painful cricks of his neck as he groaned out, popping his back was well. _'This ain't a fight we can win...'_ He'd say it pained him to admit it, but the sheer one-sided pounding they were getting from the princess already took care of that. It put things into perspective; the princess was a high caliber fighter, most likely among the S-Rank elite. The pride of his previous victories and the battles he survived felt distant, now all he could feel was the great gap between him, and warriors like his mother, Kakashi, Jiraiya, Hiruzen, people he admired so much and desired to reach one day.

Yet he couldn't shake the excitement off his person either, knowing their princess was so bad ass. Maybe it was a statement in and of itself, of the strength of their nation. She was brave, such that she was willing to put her life on the line for her people, and charismatic, for Naruto thought he wouldn't mind following the commands of someone like her, who will one day fully lead their home. He supposed he could add the princess to that list of people he admired.

But while the Uzumaki was looking at the difference in level between them with optimism, like a challenge, the Uchiha could only see it with frustration and failure, anger and feelings of uselessness overcoming him.

Sasuke growled, unwilling to let this stand. He needed to close the gap between him and people like her... He needed to close the gap with Itachi.

Lightning crackled in his right hand.

Naruto gasped as he saw this; "Woah, woah, woah! What are you doing with that?!" He snapped, looking at his friend in disbelief; "You can't use that on our princess, teme!"

"It's alright" She called out, much to the blonde's shock. Maiyuri smiled at him. "Come at me with all you have, Naruto-san!"

 **"Well, she's literally asking for it;"** Kurama prompted. **"Come on, I wanna see how she kicks your collective asses some more"**

 _'Thank you for the vote of confidence;'_ Naruto dryly retorted. Still, he very much believed the fox was right; Maiyuri would most likely have something up her sleeve for this.

But still, his heartbeat sped up at the thought of it, he wanted to see... wanted to clash against her with all his strength

And so he formed a Rasengan in his left hand. The spiraling sphere of energy stood next to the lightning which cried like birds.

With a mighty leap, they closed this distance.

Maiyuri smiled, proud in with their resolve and their potential. She would repay them in kind.

Closing her eyes, she took a stance and focused. The energies from the depths of her soul surged forth; she called upon the strength of her ancestors and the mysteries of the beyond. Her left hand stood on a half-ram sign, while her right hand was down with her palm parallel to the ground.

The two boys cried out valiantly and thrust hard, driving their attacks forward.

And suddenly 'something' collided with them with great force. They saw their energies clashing with torrents of chakra against fiery flames that just weren't... natural. Flickering in a raging fire, they could barely see the shape of whatever was creating them.

Then Chidori and Rasengan exploded, sending the boys flying away before landing on their backs.

 **"Ohh;"** The fox sounded intrigued. **"Interesting"**

Naruto sat up to see what he meant and he gasped in shock, Sasuke quickly followed suit, his eyes wide.

The princess kept her stance, and around her in midair were two arms, great, ethereal looking limbs of shape beyond a regular limb. They were ablaze, lit with hungry flames. The sheer heat and energy emanated from them was surreal, the density of the chakra was just so powerful...

 **"Looks like she had learned quite a bit with the monks"** Kurama noted.

Maiyuri slowly lowered her stance, letting out a deep breath as the arms vanished. When she opened her green eyes once more, she smiled at them.

"As I stated before, both of you have talent. But it will take time and hard work before either of you can face someone like myself. There are no shortcuts, and those who believe such foolishness are cowards who know nothing of being a true warrior," Her voice while warm was also sharper than any steel blade.

Sasuke felt that last part was directed at him, especially since she stared right at him. And she was right, he was letting his temper and Uchiha blood dictate his actions. And to use the Chidori of all things on his nation's princess. While she might be dismissive of his action, The Daimyo would have sent him to prison or the headsman's axe.

"Forgive me Maiyuri-hime. As my sensei told me; The Chidori is meant only to kill an enemy... I should pay more heed to his words"

For once Naruto felt his jaw drop upon hearing Sasuke of all people apologizing. However the princess kept her smile; "You are fine, but I am glad you are seeing things clearly. I do not begrudge you for wanting vengeance, but don't let it or your rage control you. Train; focus yourself to becoming the best you can become. But do not forget what is most important."

"And that is?" Sasuke lifted a brow.

The royal nodded at Naruto; "You still have people who care about you. Don't shut them out."

Sasuke followed her finger and stared at the blonde. "I'm your friend, aren't I?" Naruto said softly.

The young Uchiha lowered his gaze.

The princess sighed; "I will not try to understand your pain or frustration, but I do understand your anger. If I had my way, I would send kill-teams after Itachi" She spoke with an edge in her voice, much to their surprise. "He is nothing but a traitor and a kinslayer, scum like him have no place in this world, they deserve no honor and no mercy" Maiyuri shook her head. "I believe Konoha has not taken enough action when it comes to their traitors, and your clan deserves justice"

Sasuke sometimes felt like that, felt that Konoha had just forgotten about what Itachi did...

"You have full right to claim your vengeance, but make sure it doesn't consume you"

"Hey, I'll help you"

Sasuke let out a soft gasp, staring at the blonde in shock.

"Yeah" Naruto shrugged. "If you wanna take him down, count me in, I ain't gonna let what that bastard did to you go unanswered, and I'm sure as hell not gonna let you do that by yourself, gods know you'll probably do something stupid" Though his tone was light, there was honest feeling behind his words. He was worried for Sasuke; he was worried for his friend.

"Naruto, you..."

The Jinchuuriki merely beamed a blinding smile at him. The princess softly smiled as well, relieved that if even if the Uchiha were to walk a dark path, there would be someone there to pull him back into the light.

"I..."

"Naruto!"

The three turned immediately upon hearing the panicking voice of Karin. She arrived to the field, panting, her eyes were wide with fear and concern. Something had happened.

"Karin?" The blonde dreaded to think had happened that put his cousin in this state.

"What's going on?" The princess asked.

Her next words made their blood freeze. "S-Something happened to the Hokage"

* * *

 **XxX ~ Konoha Hospital ~ XxX**

* * *

"Vitals are stable" Said one of the medical ninja, even with all their years of training, all the cases in their careers; they couldn't fully hide the concern in their voices. Not when it came to their beloved leader.

Jiraiya sighed in relief. "Good, keep a close eye on him" He peered over to Kushina, the woman couldn't remain still and so she paced around the white room. "Any word on the ANBU?"

"Fox says he has his best elites sweeping through the every inch of the village right now, so far, no sign of Danzo or his cronies" With her arms crossed, she tightened her fingers' grip on her left bicep. "It's like he vanished like a ghost..."

The Gama Sannin only growled as he felt like punching something; "I knew Danzo was a snake. But to truly go as far to use a genjutsu on the Hokage;" But what made it so frustratingly worse was the fact it was done right under his nose.

Never in his life did he ever felt this level of pissed off. "If I find that old sack of bones before Fox don't expect much to be left of the corpse," he spoke darkly.

"Get in line," Kushina retorted in a feral manner.

"That's enough," the head doctor addressed sharply glaring at both; "Your anger is understandable but it will not help the Sandaime presently. Especially you Kushina-sama, you never could control your temper. But you must keep a calm head until our Hokage has recovered. Trust in Commander Fox and the ANBU to find this traitor."

Soon a loud crash outside the room garnered everyone's attention as they heard the ANBU stationed at the door lamented; "Naruto-san please calm down!"

"How the hell can I be calm?! What the hell happened to Jiji?!" Kushina could hear her son practically scream at the ANBU as she opened the door seeing Iguru and Kuma physically restraining her son. "Let go of me damn it!"

"Naruto, enough" His mother ordered.

"Mom!" Only when he saw her did he stop struggling, prompting the ANBU to release him as they knew Kushina would have this under control.

The blonde raced up to her, worry and fear clear in his blue eyes. "What happened to jiji?"

"He fell into a coma, but he's stable" She quickly said, trying to ease his concern the moment she said the word 'coma'. "Physically, he is fine"

"I-I don't get it" He felt so lost, "What's going on?"

"It is something I wish to know as well" To the surprise of the hospital staff, Kushina, and the ANBU the princess arrived soon after Naruto, Karin following suit. Her eyes were sharp and demanded answers.

"It's..." Tired and frustrated, Kushina had a hard time organizing her thoughts to tell her son and the princess they wanted to know without telling them everything. "It's a long story" She breathed out, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"You know of Danzo, right?" Thankfully, Jiraiya took over. "Elder, directs some of most hidden black opts for the village?" At that their princess nodded, he continued. "We began to suspect he had something to do with assault on the village during the exams"

"What?" Maiyuri couldn't keep the outrage and shock from overcoming her. Naruto could only gasp in shock. An elder had... betrayed their village?

"The old man tried to defend him, when we called out all of Danzo's actions and how the evidence reflected poorly on him, he... he looked like he was in pain, and then he passed out" Jiraiya tiredly ran a hand over his face. "The Yamanaka say his mind had fought against the effects of an extremely powerful genjutsu. The resulting contradiction of his thoughts and the illusion he was under caused the genjutsu to break... but it had much of a toll on his mind, so the result was this coma he's in"

"And this all happened" The princess tried to put the pieces together, "while you were discussing about Danzo? That's..."

"Extremely convenient" Kushina finished for her.

Maiyuri looked sharply to the ANBU as Kuma spoke up; "Commander Fox has the elite regiment scouring everywhere but there are no signs of Danzo."

While the adults conversed, Naruto almost numbly shambled into the room as he saw the first person who ever showed him kindness lying on the hospital bed. He remembered the first day he met the old man while cooking fish at his campfire. How he showed up for his birthdays when he was not busy, even if it was for a few minutes he cherished every moment of those times.

The time Naruto spent at the Hokage's office while Hiruzen worked. All the little occasions that made their mark in the blonde's heart. Sure the two argued like cats and dogs from time to time, and Naruto drove the old man crazy with his pranks. But Hiruzen was always there for him.

...Naruto had never told anyone, his other reason for becoming Hokage. One that felt was more personal, but he wanted to take over when Jiji wanted to retire again. Not just taking over the reins but to show he could do the job and Hiruzen could be proud of him.

To make his grandfather proud.

The doctor said nothing as he saw the tears start cascading from the young Uzumaki's eyes. It was no big secret the Sandaime was affectionate to Naruto in a manner of a grandparent is to a grandchild. But he seriously doubted that anyone truly understood just how much the blond loved Hiruzen Sarutobi for the simple fact he truly cared and saw him as a boy rather than as a monster.

"Doc" Naruto's voice was a broken whisper.

"He's going to be alright" The medic softly to reassure the lad. "Sarutobi-sama is strong; he just needs time to recover"

Naruto would trust in their judgement, it was all he could do. His fists tightened in frustration, he wanted to kill Danzo, make him pay for having manipulated jiji all this time. But he was gone; he escaped with his tail between his legs the moment his dirty little secret had been revealed.

He'd find him one day, and then he'd regret the day he ever took advantage of his village and their Hokage.

"Has my father been informed?" The princess prompted.

"He has" Jiraiya replied. "An emergency meeting was held not long ago. The clans expressed concern that this would leak out, so we need to find a successor to take his place while he's in this state"

"What?" Naruto sharply turned at that. "He's like this and they're just gonna replace him?!" He seethed, though not in a loud voice.

Kushina gave him a disapproving gaze, as if disappointed that the others would really treat their leader like that. "We're already in a delicate situation; we need someone to take the reins. This is what he'd want" His mother stressed the last words, causing Naruto to flinch at how rash he had been. Kushina sighed tiredly. "The Council came to a conclusion, with previous instructions and suggestions left by the old man. We need our greatest medic back, we need Tsunade to return to Konoha and become Hokage"

Karin, Maiyuri and Naruto's eyes widen upon hearing that name; "That won't be easy," the princess stated. "Especially since finding her is next to impossible."

"I have contact that found where Tsunade was last seen," Jiraiya gazed back to his sensei then back to the princess.

Naruto slowly looked to his mother, she had told him about the woman who adopted her when she came to Konoha. Who was the grandmother that he had never even known about. Honestly he wasn't really sure how to feel about her. But he knew his mom had an edge in her voice whenever bringing Tsunade up.

"Gaki," the blond looked over to Ero-Sennin; "me, you, Red, and specs there will be heading out to go visit my contact and look for Tsunade."

"No problem" Naruto said with a determined look in his eye.

"Oh, I'm 'Specs' now I see" Karin dryly replied. "Guess that sums up my personality in a nutshell. O-Oh and it's fine, you don't need to ask me first if I want to go"

"Well" Jiraiya dragged out the word. "Considering you're still on probation and was given sanctuary from my crazy ass former teammate... Hmmm, nope. You don't really get a say in it"

"...Fair enough" She grumbled, crossing her arms. "Geez, I was gonna say 'Ok' anyway. Let me have some dignity"

"Dignity is overrated" Jiraiya helpfully informed. "Now pack it up, we're gonna need your sensing skills" He turned his gaze to Kushina and Naruto. "You too, the sooner we can head out, the better"

"Alright" Kushina nodded before placing hands on the young ninja's shoulders. "Come on kids, I have a feeling it's gonna be a long trip.

Both Sannin and princess watched as they strode down the hallway until they turned in a corner and disappeared from view. "So" Maiyuri prompted. "Is this contact of yours reliable?"

"One of the best," Jiraiya said with utter confidence; "And I trust this contact, she has never let me down yet." He smirked. "You know her actually"

"Really?" Maiyuri blinked in surprise.

"Oh yes. After all, she would drive you mad and rope you into her schemes against your will all the time in the Fire Temple"

After a few seconds of silent, Maiyuri groaned and ran a hand over her face. "That woman… I shouldn't be surprised she's your contact. Always saying she'd make a name for herself…"

* * *

 **XxX ~ Naruto ~ XxX**

* * *

Naruto took a small moment to himself, he had sent a clone to get his things ready, and so he wouldn't be wasting time.

He stood in front of the Hokage's office's door. The blonde wasn't really sure why he had come here, but he just… he just needed to think.

There were no guards, or if there were then they continued their awesome job at being stealthy. One way or another he entered alone. Wasn't the first time he was alone in the Hokage's office, he often had sneaked in when he knew Jiji was away. He'd sometimes leave the hat there and he'd play with it all the time.

He smiled faintly at the memory as he looked at the empty desk… a desk that would soon to be used by the new Hokage.

Tsunade, last member of the Senju clan, his own mother's adoptive mother… his grandmother. From what he had heard, the woman endured tragedy after tragedy, only after that bastard Orochimaru had revealed his true colors and they failed to bring him to justice was when she got fed up with everything and left, taking with her a ward, the niece of her deceased lover.

From the way he heard it sometimes, it was like Shizune went with her to make sure she'd be alright.

He couldn't understand it. To leave her family like that. His mother had recently gotten married to his father; a huge argument had broken out from what he was told.

But still, Tsunade had left. Did this village hold only bad memories for her, to leave her daughter and her growing family like that? When his mother 'died', she certainly must have had no reason to come back.

But… what about him? Did she know? She must have known. Was it too painful for her to even see him? Did she even care?

He could be angry, but honestly getting angry wouldn't help at all. There was enough anger in this mess from his mother's part. He didn't want to get angry; he just wanted his grandmother to be part of their family.

But there in laid his greatest fear; rejection. Would his grandmother deny their request to come back? Would she reject him again?

He was almost too afraid to find out…

A soft wet sniff snapped him out of his thoughts. It came from below the desk.

Hesitantly, he walked around it and peered underneath. "Konohamaru?" Indeed, the younger boy was hiding under the desk, holding his legs against his chest and sniffing back the snot gathering under his nose while the corners of his eyes were wet. He barely acknowledged Naruto.

"Ah" The blonde understood what was going on. "You heard what happened to the old man" What a stupid thing to say, he kicked himself mentally. Of course Hiruzen's family would be informing, the whole Sarutobi clan would know.

Still, Konohamaru nodded stiffly.

The blonde sighed and scooted to sit next to the young boy. He grunted in discomfort, back when he was smaller the desk wasn't this cramped.

He just sat there, knowing the kid needed the company.

"They're gonna replace him…" Konohamaru finally said.

Naruto didn't know where he had heard that, it was sensitive information after all. "Nobody's gonna replace him, the old man wanted this person to be the new Hokage"

"He's the Hokage…"

"And he'll always be" Naruto put a comforting arm around his shoulder. "I promise you nobody here will ever forget that" He smiled. "Your grandpa is a the biggest badass I know, he's gonna make it through this"

Konohamaru had said nothing.

"And hey, he'd want you to be strong. Can you be strong for him?" The blonde closed his eyes and beamed a blinding smirk. "What am I saying? You're his grandson, of course you can!"

The young boy sniffed and allowed himself to smile. One smile from Naruto and he knew everything would be okay. "Thanks Niisan…"

* * *

 **XxX ~ Uzumaki residence ~ XxX**

* * *

"You're going to find Tsunade-sama?" Sakura watched on while Naruto was putting items he needed into his sealing scrolls. The rosette had been given the quick version of the situation; "Will you be okay?"

Naruto knew what she was referring to; "I'll feel better when Jiji is out of that coma. Maybe that Tsunade lady can help." He still felt weird to actually call her grandmother since he never knew her.

"You sure?" She hesitantly asked. "I mean, she's your... well you know" The pinkette felt very awkward saying this, like she was intruding in matters she had nothing to deal with.

"Yeah" He tiredly replied. "Yeah, I know. I honestly... don't really know how to feel right now. All I wanna do is getting her here so she can help us" He rubbed his neck in unease. "My mom is the one who's all angry. I don't want her to be, but I can't tell her what to feel or not, I just want the two to make up and-" He let out a soft breath. "I don't want her to be like this with her mom..."

Ever that realistic one, Sakura pointed out. "I don't think she's gonna make things easy"

"Who? My mom or Tsunade?"

"Either? Both?" She shrugged. "Your mom is pissed, I get it, and she's pissed about a lot of things. But..." Her jade eyes shifted. "I guess one should try and look at things from her perspective. One moment she was giving birth to you, and then twelve years passed by without her even knowing. She missed out so much, and I bet she still hasn't processed a lot of stuff that went on in her absence"

The blond was well aware of that. A few nights when going passed his mother's room he could hear her crying once in a while. His mom hid it well enough during the day, but the blond knew she was hurting a lot more than she said or showed.

Just like he did when alone…

"It's probably been one whirlwind right after another. She has to get through it her by her own time," the rosette said gently.

"I know," Naruto gave a weak smile; "I can just hope for the best right?" Sakura gave him a quick back hug which helped his nerves relax. With a ram seal the last of what the blond needed was in his scroll as he put it in his kunai thigh holster. "Be back in a few days."

"Try to keep your mom from demolishing a town, will you?" Sakura joked with a sly smile.

Naruto laughed, but it soon died down as he realized that was a very likely possibility. He just knew there would be a lot of wreckage involved in this mission of theirs. "I hope I can..."

"I'll pray for you" His teammate said sympathetically.

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

As they left the house, Naruto and Karin took notice of the outfit Kushina was wearing. Her bangs were kept away from her face by her forehead protector, while her hair was tied in a high ponytail. She wore a tan colored coat with a dark embroidered border; the sleeves weren't very long, reaching only to her forearms, which were protected by arm-guards. Underneath she wore a black kimono-like blouse with a mesh opening underneath the collarbone, held around her midsection by a white obi. It reached only to the upper part of her thighs, showing she was a wearing a pair of black tight shorts, showing off her shapely legs, which were covered by leg-guards. Finally, she wore a simple pair of updated shinobi sandals.

Looking up to the sky with a determined gaze, Kushina looked ready for action.

"Daaaayum, mom! You look badass!"

While Karin did not express herself with the same amount of enthusiasm, she did smile widely. "It does suit you"

The cool badass warrior air around her vanished in an instant as squared her shoulders, smiling sheepishly while blushing in embarrassment. "You think so? Had this for a while now, thought I'd pull it out from the old closet again 'ttebane..."

Shaking out of her embarrassment, the older redhead looks the younger redhead; "And you too look nice with your new get-up."

Karin's outfit being a long sleeve dark blue kimono top with a mesh shirt underneath. Her top was tied with a sash and stopped at her thighs with black shorts and sandals. Meanwhile Naruto kept on what he had this morning.

The glasses wearing Uzumaki lightly blushed; "Tenten gave me a discount on this stuff;" It was both functional and combat ready, like everything in their store.

Making their way to the gates, the trio saw Haku and her team with Zabuza speaking with Jiraiya and the original Naruto after leaving the Hokage tower and Konohamaru who went home. No doubt filling them in on the current situation judging by the gravely serious expression from the swordsman.

Getting close enough the shadow clone handed the scrolls of supplies over to the original before dispelling. The blond smiling now gaining the memory of Sakura's word to his clone.

"This is bad for your village, sannin" The frowning visage of Zabuza's bandaged face carried a grimness they hadn't seen before. "An invasion, of which you survived mind you but your defenses were weakened, now your Kage is in a coma while one of your very own elders turned traitor. You're not 'Bloody Mist' levels of fucked over yet, but man..."

"Don't have to tell me twice" Jiraiya grunted, crossing his arms. "Konoha is in a very delicate state right now. Inform you Kage that Danzo has been added to the list of threats for our villages and the alliance"

"Terumi-sama will make sure to order our hunter-nin to detain this Danzo if they find him" Haku replied resolutely. "He will be brought to your village to face justice"

"So you guys are heading home now," Naruto looks up to the Kiri swordsman and Haku.

"Well it's not like staying with you tree hugging hippies isn't fun and all," Zabuza snorted; "but since the Mizukage left we were ordered to stay for only a few more days. Besides brat, you got business with finding the Tsunade woman." His eye glanced to Kushina as he gave a small nod which she returned.

"We need to inform the Mizukage about this development, it'll be safer if we do so in person" Haku said, her gaze soft and understanding. "To uphold our alliance, Danzo will be hunted by our village as well"

"Though not with as much pleasure as you people will, I think" Kouhei spoke, his wavy hair swaying as he shook his head in amusement. "I bet you hippies ain't all 'Love and Peace' when it comes to traitors like him"

"Our ANBU are efficient" Kushina replied. "Let's leave it at that"

"At any rate," Jiraiya spoke up; "time to go."

All nodded as Naruto and Karin gave a quick farewell to their Kiri friends as they dashed out the gate. "So where are we going first Ero-Sennin?" Naruto asked beside Karin as they began to leap through the trees.

"I need to speak with a contact of mine, She'd know where Tsunade's current whereabouts."

"How reliable is this contact?" Kushina asked beside the Sannin.

Jiraiya smirked; "One of the best."

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

Jumping from tree to tree for some time now, the band of Leaf ninja plus Karin moved at full speed towards their destination... which the Uzumaki just realized they had no idea where said was.

"So... where are we going?" Naruto drawled as he asked.

"Tanzaku Town" Jiraiya replied with his eyes narrowed as the wind clashed against his face with each leap, making his mane of white hair sway. "Popular tourist attraction here in the Land of Fire, gambling is legal so there are lots of casinos"

"Ohhh I remember;" Kushina looked excited as memories flooded back into her mind. "Every night is a party. It's like they're in a constant festival, and when there is festival then it's a Festival!" Naruto and Karin could swear they heard the capital 'F' there...

"And pretty much hasn't changed since you remember," the Sannin faintly smirked. "Though the fireworks show did get better at least."

"Oh I loved those," Kushina was beaming as she remembered her visits in Tanzaku. "We are watching that when we get a chance." Hopefully this time around it wouldn't end with a huge gambling debt…

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

They arrived at nighttime, allowing the young ninja to take a good look at the glamour and splendor of the small city. Tanzaku Town was truly a place of festivity and merriment, with people going around the various business stands and games, laughing as they entered the various casinos to try their luck.

But they knew that was just the surface, Tanzaku town was still a place where gambling was legal, which meant a lot of people would be losing everything here. This place gathered the wrong sort of crowd, and plenty dark deals were being made behind closed doors.

However, for the rest of the people who wisely choose to just enjoy the typical festivities in the streets could genuinely have a good time. There were plenty of stands where delicious food, traditional or otherwise, were being served. As well as plenty of games where they didn't risk gambling all their money away.

Music filled the streets along with the bantering and laughter of the crowd. Paper lamps hanged above them, beautifully designed pieces of decoration of various colors and designs.

"Wooooow..." Naruto breathed out in awe, it reminded him of the festivals back in Konoha, but this place had a more energetic feel to it.

Kushina inhaled deeply and sighed in delight once she smells the scent of that sweet, sweet dango. She runs a hand over her mouth to clear the drool forming.

"Awwww, Tanzaku Town" Jiraiya smiled fondly as he rested his hands on his hips. "Where money flows right out of your pockets"

"Okay, this place is pretty awesome," Karin looked with the same awestruck as her cousin beside her. "So where are we meeting your contact?"

"Not at some brothel right?" Kushina lightly glared over prompting an eye roll from her late husband's mentor. Seriously how the hell Minato did not become an outright pervert being around this guy was a mystery to her.

"No, not at the brothel," though going there later did sound good. After this damn mess was all over and done with; "Her name is Yuma, trust me you won't miss her."

"Where is she now?" Karin asked, looking around. That name… why did it feel so familiar? Also why was Aunt Kushina squealing so excitedly?

The sannin dryly replies. "Probably drinking and eating a lot while making a big scene..."

"It sounds like you know her well" Naruto noted.

"Trust me, she's the kind of people who leaves an impression" He shrugged. "Come on, I do know she'll be at Kaihako Street. Lots of stands she loves there"

And so the team of four continued walking, Naruto and Karin watched in wonderment at the various festivities while Kushina made quick stop, buying different kinds of sweets.

"You know, eating all that stuff all the time isn't healthy" Jiraiya dryly informed him.

"Don't care!" Kushina grunted as she put three whole dango into her mouth. "Imma live forever!" She spoke passionately with her mouth full, not caring that she was spitting out pieces of her treat as she did so. She quickly looked at another stand with joy. "Oh! Cherry porky!"

Karin suddenly perked up as she felt a chakra signature. It was... big. The levels of chakra were huge, around Aunt Kushina's level or Jiraiya's. It also felt so... fiery. An unending raging fire of passionate joy. It shined brightly like a beacon on a misty night. She had to admit it kind of felt like a contagious cheerful mood. Much like Naruto felt bright and sunny.

"I feel something..." The spectacle wearing girl muttered.

"You're probably feeling Yuma" The sage spoke while tipping his chin at the path ahead, nodding a crowd of cheering people. "And if I were a gambling man, which I am, I'd say she's right there"

The people were gathered around a rather long stand were large plates with foods and drinks were being served. The crowd excitedly cheered 'Chug, chug, chug, and chug!' Encouraging the source of their admiration to finish the immense glass mug full of beer in her hand.

As they made their way through the crowd, Kushina and the young teens could finally make out the figure sitting on one of the stools in front of the stands. Her outfit was... colorful, to say the least. It was simply one of the most artistically inspired and outlandish outfits they've ever seen.

It consisted of two main colors for the theme. Red and blue. She wore a revealing blue gi that with red outlines that ended before reaching her knees. Her shins and knees were protected by beautifully carved red dyed armor plates while she wore red sandals, underneath the armor her legs and feet were covered by black stockings with a red outline, ending with two rhomb patterns above the knee.

Around her waist was a burgundy obi with a flower pattern and a lotus shaped belt at the center. Coming from under the obi was a long red cloak with flower shaped embroidery. Attached to the belt was a long golden knot were two katanas were strapped in.

Her arms were covered by a tight black undersuit going all the way to her wrists, with red lines crisscrossing around the biceps. Her elbows were protected by armor pieces of two layers. The outer lay was blue in color with intricately designed red lines, while the second one beneath it was red. At her wrists she wore wristbands with large decorations over the back of the hands, these being in the shape of large red flames with blue outlines.

Tied around her shoulders and over her back was a red cloth with golden outlines, forming flower patterns at the corners. Her blue gi was revealing on the cleavage, showing off her very ample bosom. It left the upper part her shoulders bare, at the side of her chest two thick threads were tied around a frilly choker on her neck, holding up her gi, where a silver tomoe necklace rested.

Her hair was white like the snow; a long bang fell over her right shoulder while the rest of her hair was tied in a wild high ponytail held up by a large hair piece in the shape of black and red tomoe-mon.

Throwing her head back as the woman downed the large mug of beer, once its contents emptied; she slammed it over the counter and sighed in satisfaction. The crowd cheered while the young woman threw up her arms and whistled. "WOOO!" She laughed. "Any of you nice folks wanna invite me another drink?"

The young woman was astonishingly beautiful, with an oval shaped face and clear blue eyes. Everything about this woman screamed 'sex-appeal', the beautiful curves of her athletic body, the way she moved, the confidence in her speech, the sheer joy in her voice. The people around her were pretty much throwing themselves at her feet, men and women alike.

"Woah..." Naruto breathed out. Puberty had never struck more strongly.

"Woah..." Karin muttered, feeling her own puberty hitting something fierce. As well as her sexuality coming into question.

For some strange reason, Kushina was hopping in place, shaking her hands with great energy and looking at the young woman with wonder in her eyes, "Oh my gooooods~!"

Jiraiya shook his head and chuckled. "Having fun as always I see"

The white haired female swordsman immediately turned at hearing his voice. Her blue eyes widening along with her smile; "Hey old man! Thought you wouldn't be coming for a second there!" She paused as she took notice of the other three; "Well, well, well, the legendary Red Death herself. The cute kid is your boy right? And glasses would be the former associate of a certain snake?"

All three Uzumakis look wide eyed while Jiraiya only snorted; "Showing off as usual."

"How the hell did you know?" Karin almost whispered.

"Honey when I do not know something, then you should be worried," the white haired beauty paid her tab as she stood up; "Name is Yuma, contact of the big guy here," thumbing over to Jiraiya.

The sensor girl bit her lip, lost in thought. Yuma... it had been bothering her for a time now. But she knew that name, she just couldn't place it. The swordswoman must have realized how intently she was looking at her because she smirked in a somewhat haughty fashion.

"Perhaps you know me as 'Reiken Yuma'"

The word 'Reiken' elicited a gasp from Karin as she watched with wide eyes at the older woman with amazement. "Spirit-Blade Yuma..."

Kushina and Naruto both gasped in shock... before face-faulting and dryly stating. "I have no idea who that is" Kushina said.

"Me neither" Said her son.

The smirk on Yuma's face shattered as she felt herself be pierced by two invisible arrows with the words 'unknown' written on them.

Jiraiya rolled his eyes and snorted at her reaction. "Not surprised you haven't heard of her. You're too new to the game kid, and you Kushina have been away for a long time" He looked at Karin. "Orochimaru had you informed on some players out there huh?"

"Information was always our greatest weapon" She said. "Because of Oto's structure, we rely on it far more than even most villages" She once more turned her red eyes to the white haired woman. "You're one of the best mercenaries out there"

At that Yuma winked; "Damn straight I am, busted my sexy ass to be the biggest badass woman in the Nations and beyond. My blade will one day reach the Emptine-" Her words were cut short as Kushina grasped the young woman's cheeks.

"Ohhhh look at you!" Kushina gushed with as much excitement as one would show when seeing a toddler. "You're so pretty! I-I mean I just can't believe your old man is someone like-"

"So!" Jiraiya forcefully said, placing a hand over Yuma's shoulder to make her back away from Kushina. "The info, you know, the whole reason we're here in the first place?"

"Oh right, the Tsunade woman" Yuma placed her arms akimbo as she was brought back on track. "Wasn't hard to pick up the trail. She's right here"

Their group fell completely silent.

"...Say what?" Kushina asked.

"She's here in Tanzaku Town" Yuma explained; "She has been hopping between casino after casino. Driving that young woman Shizune crazy."

A long dry look came from Kushina; "Yeah that sounds like my mother. Still gambling and absolutely sucking at like normal no doubt."

"Well they call her the Legendary Sucker for a reason," Jiraiya drones. "Which hotel?"

"She's hopping between those too," the buxom white haired beauty snorted; "For a fifty year old she is spry as hell."

"I take offense to that," Jiraiya lightly glared. "I haven't lost my edge yet."

"Because you have a libido most teenage boys would dream of having," Kushina rolled her eyes.

"Damn right"

The Uzumaki matriarch honestly didn't want to waste any more time. "Well, let's go look for her" She didn't wait for the other's response before she began marching.

"Wait a second there Kushina" Jiraiya spoke seriously. "We are tired from the journey, it's already late and there are tons of people around. We'll find her better in the morning"

"Are you kidding me?" She snorted with annoyance. "We have Karin; she's the best sensor we know"

"It's... harder if the person is keeping their chakra levels low" The spectacle wearing girl admitted with a hint of shame in her voice. "That's why I couldn't sense Orochimaru during Exams; he knew what I'm capable of and planned accordingly once he realized I was no longer under his control. He kept his chakra masked enough with multiple protections for me not to feel him"

Kushina looks at the girl in the eye. "But you could find Tsunade if you concentrate right"

"Well, yeah" The older Uzumaki brightened at that but soon Karin deflated her hopes. "But this town is filled with people, and I bet many of them are ninjas and mercenaries on missions, even if I concentrate it'd be difficult." She didn't really want to deny her aunt this, but Karin figured it was better to be honest. "And I'm a bit tired from the journey, so it adds to that..."

Naruto hummed in thought. "Come on, mom. Don't push Karin; we can do it tomorrow morning with no problem"

She couldn't say no to her son and Karin. "Alright" She relented, feeling a bit bad for not taking into consideration how Karin was feeling at the moment. Already the girl had a lot riding on seeing how she was still on probation. "Tomorrow"

"Good" Jiraiya nodded in agreement. "I'll look for hotel for us to stay" Not wanting Kushina to do anything stupid, he looked through his wallet and handed her some money. That should keep her busy for the night. "Here, play some games, buy food. Whatever you want"

Kushina grabbed the money with a sparkling smile. "Yay!" And went off to get some sweets.

"...Your mother is a woman-child"

"I'm starting to see that..." The blonde sighed and went after her. "Come on Karin, we have to watch over my mom"

She grumbled. "Aren't we supposed to be the kids in this situation?"

Once seeing the Uzu trio was out of hearing distance Jiraiya sighed; "Sorry, was this on short notice?"

"You're fine old man. Just hope I can help," Yuma said, waving off Jiraiya's concern as she gave a small smile.

The two walked together to one of the nearest hotels, the sannin paid for a room with four beds. Yuma accompanied him as he entered the rented room and begin putting down some of his stuff, namely his giant scroll which was becoming increasingly more cumbersome.

"Cheap as always I see" She quipped as she sat in a chair.

"One reason I still have money" He sighed as he let himself fall over one of the beds, letting out a long tired breath. He needed this...

The white haired beauty looked at him with concern in her blue eyes. "Dad" She softly spoke. "You okay?"

"Just... dealing with a lot of stuff. I'll be fine" He assured his daughter.

She knew him well enough to tell something had gone wrong. "What is it? Come on, you can tell me"

The sage took a long breath. "The Sandaime is in a coma"

Her father soon filled her in on the current events of Konoha. The young mercenary snarled as she felt like punching something; "You always warned me about that piece of trash. But going that far and using a fucking genjutsu on the Sandaime…"

"Do I have to ask you to tell your boss about Danzo?"

"Oh I will let him know, this bastard won't find a moment's peace anywhere," she took a long deep breath calming herself as she rubbed her temples. "Kushina coming back, the Kazekage dead and full fucking invasion in your village. Did the whole world decide to crazy when I wasn't looking?"

"Trust me kiddo, it got way worse back in the day."

"Don't need to tell me, the veterans in Kageken aren't afraid to let us know just how fucked up things could get" She went over the minibar pulled out a beer can.

That got Jiraiya too sat up on the bed and look at Yuma with reproach in his eyes. "Hey I need to pay for those"

"You can afford it" She threw one on his direction, which Jiraiya easily catches. She opens hers and took a long gulp. "Ahhh" Yuma shook her can slightly, idly looking inside it. "Anyone else know we work as your contacts?"

"Kushina and the old man kne-knows" He quickly corrected himself. Hiruzen wasn't gone yet. "Knowing we work closely will make a lot of people call for my head" He opened his can and drank.

"Well, that's what happens when your 'pals' are the Shodai Hokage's murderers" Yuma sighed as she sat back in her chair, but not before pulling out another beer.

"So, how is your mom? Doing okay?"

"You know she is"

"Yeah, yeah"

Yuma sighed for a moment, rubbing her eyes. "You think this Danzo guy suspected about you and Kageken?"

"If he did, he would have long taken me out of the picture, or blackmailed me to do his dirty work"

"Look old man, maybe it's safer for you to distance yourself for a bit. We can still get you info and all-"

"Hey, hey, hey;" His tone rose as he pointed a finger at her while the rest of his hand held his beer. "Stop worrying. I've been doing this for a long time. The old man knows it; he understands Kageken isn't what it used to be"

His daughter gave him a tired look, and he knew he couldn't stand against those blue eyes she inherited from Uma.

"Doesn't matter, we're still the guys whose original grandmaster assassinated Hashirama Senju and basically triggered the First War" She threw her head back to drink the last contents of her first can. "Few people out there that Konoha hates more than us"

"I'd say Madara is number one on that list," Jiraiya countered.

"Madara FAILED" Yuma felt the need to bring up. "Hattori DIDN'T. That's the key difference"

The sannin shock his head. "At any rate, we start looking for Tsunade tomorrow, hopefully I'll get to Kushina before she beats the crap out of her mother;" He took a swig of his beer.

Yuma sighed as she rose from her seat; "At any rate I best be going. Unless you need an extra pair of eyes?"

"Nah we're good, trust me when I say that Karin girl is the best sensor I have ever seen."

"Alright" She crushed the empty can and threw it over in a waste bin. "Hey can you lend me some money?"

"Depends, is it for food or fun?"

"You mean there is a distinction? I mean some brothels have good food"

"Use your own brothel money" Jiraiya crossed his arms, once more letting his cheapness dictate his actions. His daughter was a grown woman with her own job, so she had to act like it and pay for her own damn hookers.

The swordswoman chuckled good-naturedly. "Just remember, all my finer traits I got from you old man" She leaned in to kiss him on the cheek before turning to the door, giving him one last smile as she left. "See ya, dad"

Jiraiya groaned as he rubbed his eyes; "Still amazed your mother never cut my balls off for that."

* * *

 **XxX ~ later that night ~ XxX**

* * *

The water cascaded over her naked form as Kushina lets the shower in the bathroom sooth her body from the aches from craziness of the day. By the Gods today was a whirlwind... Her violet eyes slowly look down to the drain as she let out a long sigh. Who was she trying kid besides herself here?

Her teeth gnashed as the memories assaulted her mind again and again when she was alone. She rested a hand on the shower wall, the redhead leaned forward as her body lightly shook, her wet bangs shadowed her eyes.

Her body trembled as she failed to contain the sobs, no matter how hard she held them back the tears still broke out, salty droplets mixing with the shower's hot water.

Kushina was grieving.

She would use all her strength to put on a brave face, a smile, anything so Naruto would see her in joy, so she could share joy with him. But Naruto has long since gone to sleep, Kushina allowed herself a moment of weakness, to let down that mask and vent her grief.

It hurt so much, like a part of herself had been torn asunder, lost and she could never get it back.

She missed Minato, who felt like not long ago was standing just by side, holding her hand as she gave birth to the most beautiful and perfect baby boy. The man who loved her so much and made her love her red hair, which was the foundation to reconnect with her lost heritage, a history that only caused her pain now she could look back with pride.

Kushina wanted to raise their son together... but Minato was gone, and Naruto was no longer a baby.

She missed Mikoto, oh sweet Mikoto, so dear to her heart. So kind and brave, Kushina watched her grow up from a lonely little thing to a proud ninja of the village surrounded by friends. She deserved so much, had it been in her power Kushina would have given her a life filled laughter and merriment. Instead, Mikoto was given to a man she never loved, like she didn't have a voice of her own... And lost her own life due to the greed of her fucking clan, her children cursed to suffer.

Mikoto had deserved more, Kushina would have... she should have... She was a selfish woman; Kushina could admit it to herself. But honestly, she didn't care if she was selfish. They could have been so happy together, the three of them...

But they were gone. They were gone and weren't coming back.

To Kushina, they had been there just one second and the next...

She fell to her knees, sobbing in grief.

In the other room both Naruto and Karin slept soundly, leaning against the wall Jiraiya gave a stony stare in no particular direction as he could hear Kushina's mournful sobs in the bathroom. She could have put on any mask she wanted, but like Naruto she could not hide anything in those emotive eyes of hers.

After everything she had learned, never mind the time gap of twelve years, you might as well just have stabbed her with a kunai in the heart and be done with it.

The old sage sighed; he never really was the type to help when it came to emotions like this.

He knew what that woman needed, the moment she came out of her scroll and found the world gone insane she needed the comfort and support of her mother... but Tsunade was nowhere to be found, making Kushina all the more bitter and heartbroken. The person who had taken her in when she had been sent to Konoha and then lost it all, who raised her and loved her like her own daughter was not there when Kushina's son needed her... when she herself needed her.

Which was why they were here, a Hokage tended to the heart of their people like a parent would to a child, and if Tsunade was to be Hokage, they needed to remind her she had family to look after. Family who needed her right now.

One way or another, they'd make sure Tsunade would return home.

* * *

 **XxX ~ the next day ~ XxX**

* * *

"Ugh," Naruto groaned as he walked beside his mother, Karin, and Jiraiya as the four had been combing all over the town all damn day for Tsunade Senju. "For someone who's fifty she moves around like a damn rabbit."

The toad sage snorted while Karin bit her bottom lip; "Sorry."

"It's not your fault hun," Kushina spoke up fast in a motherly tone; "She has always been like this when binge gambling." Well it was a convincing enough lie to pass anyways.

Both adults of the group knew better, Tsunade knew they were there and making it deliberately hard for them to look for her. Knowing Shizune, the poor girl was not sure what even to do with them roaming around looking for them.

The young Uzumaki girl perks up. "She's stopped" Karin points at a bar at the end of the street. "She's right in there"

Kushina addressed triumphantly. "We cornered her"

"Cornered her?" Naruto repeated incredulously. "She just stopped to get a drink. How is that cornering her?"

She pretty much ignored him. "Old habits die hard, huh mom?" And marched forward

Jiraiya sighs with a roll of his eyes. "Come on; let's make sure the two don't kill each other"

Pushing pass the cloth at the bar's entrance, Kushina's eyes locked on as she saw the green haori with kanji word for gamble in on the back. Oh course she was wearing that damn thing, her long blond hair, not as bright like her late husband or her son's was done in her usual double ponytail.

Though her mother's back was turned to her, sitting on a stool at the bar, she knew Tsunade was wearing her sleeveless kimono blouse which matched her pants and mid-heel black sandals. Narrowing her eyes, the Uzu woman stomped over, not even seeing the short raven haired woman in a black kimono holding a pig in her arms, freaking out upon seeing a living ghost now standing behind her mentor.

Tapping Tsunade's shoulder, the buxom sannin turned with her chocolate eyes widen upon looking into the eyes of her own daughter. Kushina gives a bright smile; "Hey mom."

Just about as Jiraiya neared the bar's door, the entire building shook as he saw his old partner sent flying through the entrance and slamming through the wall of a building opposite the pub.

The sannin pinches the bridge of his nose as he lets out a weary sigh. Idly summoning a few clones, he sends them to hold Kushina back for the moment. "Come on" He walked back through the door, not really paying attention at the stunned faces of the two young Uzumaki. "Let's stop Kushina from killing her..."

Naruto and Karin could only share a bewildered look as Jiraiya walked towards the blonde buxom woman, who was painfully standing up. "Yo hime" He casually greets her, confident that his clones would hold against Kushina for a moment.

The female of the sannin groaned. "Jiraiya..." Her eyes look at him in disbelief, painfully mixed emotions reflected on them. "That's... that's..."

"Kushina, yes" He nods. "I imagine you heard the rumors, she's alive as you can see" He tried to be more sympathetic and tactful, but he doubted Kushina would give them such the time needed for that, he could hear her raving about while struggling against his clones. "And I think you can figure out who this miniature-Minato with Kushina's face here is"

Even though the bruise on her cheek began to swell, Tsunade locked eyes with her grandson. _'He... He looks just like Minato, but that face with those eyes...,'_ those emotive orbs that show more emotions than words could ever express. Just like Kushina... "Naruto," she spoke his name almost like a whisper.

The said blond Uzumaki just looked at the Senju woman awkwardly; "Um... Hi..."

"GET. OUT. OF. MY. WAY!" Jiraiya only sighed as his clones were torn apart via chakra chains. Kushina almost flew like lightning as she was ready to beat the crap out of her mom till being caught by the strong one arm of Jiraiya around her waist as her fist was cocked back.

"Enough," the Gama Sannin responded in a stern voice, not flinching as the redhead snarled at him. "This won't help you or sensei, calm down now."

His words did little calm her, though they did manage to stop her rampage. For the moment. Violet eyes stared at chocolate with great anger. The latter began to swell up with tears.

"Kushina..." It didn't feel real, after so many years. Her daughter was right there, in front of her. It made her heart throb painfully in both shame and joy.

But Kushina did not share her feelings. "Where were you?" She hissed through gnashed teeth. "Your grandson needed you; he grew up alone and you... You just turned you back on everything and for what? So you could drown yourself in alcohol and self-pity?"

Tsunade did not answer her, such was her shame

"Twelve... years," Kushina growled out slowly with pure rage; "twelve long fucking years my son spent as an orphan because his grandmother was a goddamn coward!"

"MOM!" Sharply the former Jinchurriki turned to her son who looked at her pleadingly as he shook his head; "Please... stop..."

Upon seeing his son's face, she put all her efforts into reigning in her anger. Her chest heaved with each breath. The redhead run her hands through her hair, finally settles them on the back of her head as she walked away. She stood just a few feet away but didn't leave; she just needed to take another deep breath before her anger could take the better of her once again.

Tsunade weakly raised an arm, as if to reach the redhead. But stopped mid-way through when her daughter turned away. The older blonde let her arm fall limply at her side.

Shizune stood behind the others, Tonton held tightly in her arms, watching hopelessly as the situation unfolded.

"...What do you want?" She tiredly asked her teammate, her gaze continued looking at the ground.

"The old man's in a coma" Jiraiya said forlornly. Shizune and Tsunade both gasped in shock, his old teammate finally met his eyes. "The village is in a time of instability. And I spoke with sensei before about what direction to take things to" He took a few steps closer to her; he had an unreadable look in his eyes. "The village needs a new Kage. One who's savvy and strong willed enough to deal with all this crap"

He didn't outright say it, but Tsunade understood what he wanted.

The village wanted her to be the new Hokage.

"You're fucking kidding me" The legendary medic replied sardonically.

Kushina snorted with barely scorn. "Told you she'd be like this" She quipped with her back still turned to them, her hands left her hips as to cross her arms beneath her chest. "I don't know why you even bothered"

Tsunade bristled under her words; they hurt like cold kunai twisting in her flesh.

However what sharp words she wanted to say died as Naruto talked; "Can you help Jiji..?" He walked over beside Ero-Sennin; "Can you at least come home and do that?"

Tsunade stared into Naruto's cerulean orbs before speaking; "What happened to sensei?"

"Danzo." the buxom blond glared hard at that name; "He used a powerful genjutsu on the old man, not sure how long he was under that thing. But when we learned of Danzo being a traitor sensei started acting funny then collapsed. He broke free from the genjutsu but left him in a coma."

There was more to it, Tsunade could see that in the old pervert's eyes but he wasn't going to say anymore. What the hell is going on? But still, Tsunade gazed back to her grandson who looked ready to beg her to come home.

There were so many things they had to talk about. So many things she wanted to say. She just had to agree to return and-

A quick look at Shizune's fearful eyes, and Tsunade remembered that returning just wasn't an option.

The words felt so heavy they could barely make it pass her lips. "I... I can't"

Kushina sharply turned, eyes wide in disbelief. A sentiment shared by Jiraiya who looked at her aghast.

The young jinchuuriki could only stare at her.

There is was… his fears made manifest right now. Rejection. It hurt so much he couldn't even react to it.

He hoped… he had hoped she'd say yes. That she truly wanted to return to her family, to leave the past behind…

Did she truly want nothing to do with them? Nothing to do with him?

Tsunade let out a shaky sigh, and tiredly run a hand over her face. "I can't..." She didn't give them a reason.

"Are you... Are you serious right now?" The redhead snapped, she walked up to her and grabbed her mother by the collar. "You mean to tell me that after all these years, you still won't set foot in your home, is that it?!"

Whatever was about to said by Tsunade or anyone else stopped as they all saw Naruto turning and slowly walking away. The only sound heard on the street was the chirping of night-time bugs. "S-Sochi..?"

Immediately the older redhead let go of her mother as she came quickly beside her son. She stopped him as she soon knelt in front of him; "Naruto?" Karin was soon beside her cousin with equal concern.

His eyes were nearly dim, unreadable as he looked up. He did not say a single word as he looked at his mother and cousin. Slowly walking around them, the blond continued his slow pace ahead in silence.

Kushina just gave her adoptive mother one last glare before following after her son with Karin following.

"Kushina, Naruto, I-!" Tsunade tried to say, but it was clear they weren't listening. "...I'm sorry"

Shizune's gaze turned between her mentor and the others, a subtle nod from the Senju was all she needed to go after them. Leaving Jiraiya and Tsunade alone in the street.

The toad sage let out a long sigh. "Why, hime just... why?"

Tsunade didn't look at him when she walked pass him and into the bar once more. "I need a drink... want to join me?"

The Gama Sannin let out a throaty noise as he glanced between the retreating form of his old teammate and the Uzumaki trio with Shizune following, he sighed before following Tsunade.

Tsunade was already sitting on a stool at the bar as Jiraiya joined at her side. The buxom blond stared into her cup of sake; "How..."

"How is Kushina alive?"

"That is the biggest question on my mind, yes" The woman replied snidely before take a sip.

"Tsukiko's scroll"

Tsunade's eyes snapped open as she choked on her drink. Coughing a few times to clear her throat, she gave Jiraiya a disbelieving look. "She actually used that thing?!" She said in astonishment.

"She got lucky" He nodded, understanding why she was surprised like this.

"'Lucky' is the understatement of the year" The Senju said with a grim look in her eyes. "Tsukiko herself said using that scroll was a huge gamble. I mean the amount of factors that needed to align for it to work properly, and it's not like she could actually test it..."

The Tenrai Suimin, the Divine Sleep seal... A creation of the legendary goddess of fūinjutsu herself. Inspired by the anecdotes of the animal clans, mainly the toads, who had told her of ancient masterpieces of seals designed to bring someone back from the brink of death. Complex arrays that took years, if not decades, to perfect so they could work as intended. And even then could only be used once.

That immensely powerful and dangerous seal had been her attempt at recreating such works, and even then Tsukiko said her creation should only be used in times of desperation, when death was a certainty. The seal stored the user inside, their bodies transformed into chakra to later be arranged to return to peak condition. And that was the greatest drawback, there was just no proof that the re-arranging would work, the array had never been properly tested. For all they knew, the user would have been brought back as a mangled, twisted mass of deformed flesh...

"Well, it worked as you can see" Jiraiya replied, grabbing his own cup. "The one-time use was as predicted, but at least it counted"

"But her body-"

"Blood clone"

Ah, now it all made sense. "She didn't leave any instructions?"

"She tried to, as best as she could. Her first words were for Naruto but it never really told us she was there" He shrugged. "I can't blame her. After giving birth, having a bijū ripped out of her, I'm amazed she even had the strength to breath while in so much pain, so it's a miracle she had the mental faculties to even write something" He let out a soft laugh. "Uzumaki are something else"

A tiny smile graced the corners of Tsunade's lips but it was soon replaced by a frown. "That's another flaw Tsukiko could never work into the seal, the array was so complex it didn't have room for a timed-release when the user was finally healed" She could have been trapped in there, forever.

"Let's be real" Jiraiya sighed into his cup. "The stars were aligned that day, a freaking miracle, that's how she survived"

It 'was' a miracle that was the only thing Tsunade could sum it up as. The Gods were bring benevolent and brought her daughter back. A long sigh came from the Senju woman as took a long drink of sake. Ignoring the long stare from Jiraiya; "I won't repeat myself."

"What the hell is wrong with you?" the toad sage was surprisingly calm as he spoke; "I never judged you for not being in Naruto's life cause I knew you were an emotional wreck after the Kyuubi got loose and we all thought Kushina had died with Minato. But she is alive, and right now both she and Naruto need you. Sensei needs you, who knew how much damage that genjutsu did to him because of Danzo."

"And someone should have killed that fucking one-eyed mummy years ago," Tsunade growled as she refilled her cup.

"Don't change the subject Tsunade."

She threw her head back and drank her sake.

Jiraiya tiredly sighed and ran a hand over his spiky white locks. "Won't you at least give me a reason why?"

The Senju merely set her cup down, looking at nothing in particular. She tapped her finger against the cup repeatedly.

He rolled his eyes. "And now you're giving me the silent treatment, real mature"

Tsunade glared at him from the corner of her eye. The tapping in her cup became louder.

"Oh don't give that look; I'm not the one who's being unreasonable here"

She retorted by loudly clearing her throat, slowing down the pace of her tapping.

"Well, I can play that game too" The sage crossed his arms in indignation and turned his head... then his face turned comical as the Senju bonked him in the head. "What was that for-?!" He suddenly stopped when he saw his teammate, looking extremely annoyed, subtly pointing with her left hand at her right hand, which kept tapping the sake cup.

Oh... Ohhhhhh. That's what she was trying to do.

Old Konoha code for relaying information discreetly.

Tsunade rolled her eyes in exasperation and began again, this time Jiraiya paid close attention. The pacing and speed of the finger tapping slowly formed the words letter for letter.

His eyes widened.

 **O-R-O-C-H-I-M-A-R-U**

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

"I cannot believe her," Kushina seethed as she paced around in their hotel room. Her eyes glanced over to her son who has not spoken a word as he sat in front of the open window with a concerned Karin beside him.

Shizune could only stand in the corner with Tonton in her arms. "Kushina-san..."

"Buhi..." The pig intoned sadly.

The redhead sighed hiding her face in her palms now standing at the other open window of the room.

For a moment, nobody said anything.

"I thought..." Eyes turned to Naruto in surprise as he finally decided to speak. "I thought she'd want to come back with us... I thought she'd want to return to her family" His voice was filled with disappointment.

Kushina felt her heart break, Naruto felt as if Tsunade had personally rejected him, and any idea of being a family with them...

"It's not that-," Shizune absurdity spoke but stopped as she looked fearfully over to Kushina.

"I'm not angry at you Shizune." The Uzu woman addressed evenly before looking at the dark haired woman; "You look well by the way. Really grew up" She bet the poor girl could use a break though.

"T-thank you. But please don't be angry at Tsunade-Sama."

That earned her a hard glare from both redheads as Karin who spoke up; "She's not making a good first impression thus far." She gave her cousin's hand a squeeze.

"It's very complicated," Tonton oinked in agreement.

"Tell me exactly how complicated is it when people at home need you," Kushina countered, trying not to lash out at Shizune.

"We came here to get my mother back" She continued. "We thought we could make her come home, where she is needed now more than ever" Her gaze fell to the ground. "I thought we'd mean enough to her to actually consider it" A hollow laugh escaped her lips. "Guess she doesn't want anything to do with Konoha anymore... with us."

"That's not true" Shizune defended passionately. "She loves you, she truly does. It's not her fault, she-" Tsunade's ward tried to say, but she strangely fell silent afterwards. Her eyes shifted uneasily around the room before settling down on the rug.

Kushina blinked in confusion at Shizune's behavior. Karin and Naruto, momentarily snapped from his depressed mood, looked at each other. "Is everything okay?" The glasses wearing Uzumaki asked.

The medic said nothing.

"Shizune?" The Uzu matriarch softly asked, something wasn't right.

Suddenly, a small burst of smoke startled them, revealing a very distressed looking Jiraiya. "We've got a big problem" He spoke with urgency. The sannin sharply turned to Karin. "Is there any ninja in the vicinity? Anyone you can feel that might be spying on us?"

"Um" Alarmed by his behavior, Karin closed her eyes and concentrated. Reaching out for any signatures. "N-No"

"What's going on?" Naruto asked.

Jiraiya didn't answer him, instead he walked up to Shizune. "Where's the seal?"

"Seal?" Kushina repeated. "What seal?" She had no idea what was happening.

Shizune for her part looked at him in shock and fear. "It's alright, Tsunade found a way to inform me" He assured her.

"Told you what?!" Naruto snapped, he was getting tired of being ignored.

Much to his annoyance Jiraiya ignored him. "Now show me the seal"

Hesitantly, Shizune opened her mouth and moved her tongue. What they saw made them gasp in shock.

Kushina approached slowly. "Holy- Look at that" Underneath Shizune's tongue were dark markings. "A binding seal, but for what?"

Jiraiya's eyes narrowed. "To stop people from talking about certain matters" Naruto and Karin sweatdropped when he grabbed Shizune's tongue, ignoring the woman's cries of protest as he worked on breaking the seal.

"Who did this?" Naruto breathed out.

The sage's next words made the room's temperature drop significantly. "Orochimaru... he's here. And he's manipulating Tsunade"

"WHAT?!" both Karin and Naruto yelled out before the blond soon growled along with his mother; "Hasn't that bastard done enough?" Naruto snarled angrily.

Jiraiya said nothing as he quickly broke the seal from Shizune's tongue and let her go. The young woman let out a long relieved breath as she looked to everyone; "Orochimaru forced Tsunade-Sama into helping him, he will kill a dozen hostages if she does not do something for him"

"Help him with what?!"

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

Tsunade tried to make the steps as slow as possible, anything that would keep her from actually making it to her... 'Appointment'. The hallway was dark, a row of lights only illuminated small segments, casting circles of light while the rest was covered in shadows.

She made it to the cold steel door and took a deep breath. With a turn of the handle she opened it.

Inside was a cold and grey sterile well-lit room, a surgery bed and other medical equipment had been installed to make use of the room for the occupants' intended purpose.

"Ah, my dear Tsunade-hime. So glad you could join us"

Her fists tightened, that snake had no right sounding so joyful, not after everything he's done.

At the corner of the room, the bastard's lackey pushed up his glasses. And on the bed sat a slim man with long white hair. His expression was that of indifference, and he had two peculiar red dots painted over his forehead, a type of tradition one could find in certain clans, along with red eyeliner on his eyes.

This man was her 'patient'.

"This is to be the last session, isn't it?" Orochimaru asked, standing next to his subordinate with his arms crossed.

"Yes..."

"Hmm, you're not lying to me are you?" He coyly asked. "After all, you don't want those innocent people's blood on your hands" He put emphasis on the word 'blood', knowing how much the subject affected her.

That sadistic bastard, sometimes she couldn't believe what he had become...

"While the disease he had was fatal, it can be treated and cured with the right sessions," Tsunade went to work; "It's simply due to the disease extreme rarity that the majority of doctors don't know how to treat it," she lightly glared over; "Do you doubt my skills?"

"Far from it," Orochimaru retorted seriously; "Despite our differences I never once doubted your medical skills. You are the world's greatest doctor Tsunade, even I respect that."

"...What the hell happened to you?" Tsunade kept her eyes on her patient; "Attacking Konoha, taking hostages. Those sick experiments on those infants years ago, is there anything left of person I called a friend?"

"Oh please, don't start getting sentimental on me" The snake sannin derided with quick roll of his eyes. "I've left the past behind, Tsunade. All to achieve my goals"

She didn't even want to imagine what those 'goals' were. "Did we ever mean anything to you?" She pondered, more to herself than anything. As Kimimaro lay on the table and she proceed to treat him, her hands shining with a green mystical glow.

"...Perhaps, once" He admitted with a distant look in his eyes. "But it's gone now. This is the path I've taken"

He had long since crossed the turning point that much Tsunade could see.

For now, all she could do was continue. She placed her hopes on Jiraiya, Shizune, on her daughter and grandson, to rescue these people soon.

Then, the three together they could tear this snake a new one, as a family.

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX ~ xx ~ XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

 _ **And that's a wrap.**_

 _ **AND MY GODS WAS YUMA SO DIFFICULT TO DESCRIBE!**_

 _ **-Sigh- For you people to picture her better, her design is based (completely ripped off) From Type-Moon's Fate franchise, the character is Musashi Miyamoto (in case you can't tell, they do love the gender bending trope)**_


	37. Godaime Hokage Act 3

_**Disclaimer**_ : We do not own Naruto

 _ **Co-author and Beta**_ : Etheral-23

 _ **Co-Author and fight scenes**_ : Godospartan the Kitsune

 **Chapter 37: Godaime Hokage Act III**

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX ~ xx ~ XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

He had been with his Genin playing Shogi against Shikamaru while Ino and Chouji were doing their training when Chouza came to find him. Asuma's mind stopped registering anything when he heard the words; "Your father, the Hokage is in a coma!"

Honestly the bearded Jounin had never moved so fast for the hospital in his entire life. The ANBU stationed as guard had filled him in on what lead to his father's condition, but he had barely paid attention to most of it. He did hear the now officially a traitor Danzo and his ROOT Anbu deserted the village upon the breaking of the extremely powerful genjutsu he had placed on his father.

Unfortunately, his father had not gone unscathed by the experience. The mental strain of fighting such a powerful mind controlling technique had been too much, and the coma was the result. He'd seen this kind of thing before, victims under the control of powerful jutsu, like puppets. Or at the very least, open to suggestions and ideas they wouldn't normally accept. Sometimes the technique used could be broken with no lasting repercussions, other times the victim's mind would be turned to mush.

His father was remarkably strong; Asuma did not doubt that for a moment that this coma would be temporary.

The question was; for how long?

As he watched his slumbering father on the hospital bed, he fought against the urge to pull out his cigarettes to relax. Fucking hospital regs...

Leaning against the closed hospital door with her arms crossed under her chest, Kurenai could only watch. Being moral support if Asuma needed it. The man had been silent for nearly a full hour as he simply watched his father.

"...You know," Asuma finally spoke; "I can honestly say I was a real pain in the ass when I was younger. Gods, I gave the old man more headaches than I care to admit. Had a chip on my shoulder since I was the son of legendary god of Shinobi." He sighed as he rubbed his eyes.

Kurenai kept quiet as Asuma continued; "Can't count how many times we argued. The biggest one was about... me joining the Guardian Twelve." He sighed. "To guard the daimyo and the royal family, the greatest honor that can be earned" The jounin solemnly spoke. "But I just wanted to get away for a time. To stop being questioned about my choices, to finally get out of his shadow..." He looked back at his father's figure. "I can't believe I was ever that stupid"

Kurenai felt the need to change the subject, if only to distract him for a moment. "You never speak much of those your days in the twelve"

He shrugged. "Not much to tell. We protected the daimyo from threats, we didn't go far away on missions only when the daimyo was traveling" He smiled fondly. "I had good friends there, Kitane, Nauma, Seito, Tōu, Chiriku... Hmph, haven't seen Chiriku in a long time now that I think about it. Couldn't hurt to pay him a visit" Asuma idly mused.

Kurenai looked at him incredulously. "'Not much to tell', you say. I didn't think stopping a coup by half the Guardians to be so unremarkable"

Asuma's face darkened considerably and Kurenai kicked herself from reminding him of that time. Right... his comrades had killed one another. That's why he only named five of them; the traitors did not deserve to be counted among them, not after what they did

"I often wondered if he was truly that stupid..." He let out a long breath, running a hand over his hair. "'Two kings' he said, 'uniting the Land of Fire'. Kazuma you fucking moron, the Hokage is sworn to serve the daimyo. Konoha's semi-independence was never a threat to the country"

The Jounin shook his head. "After that mess I came back home," Asuma looked over to Kurenai; "Think I was standing in front the of old man at his desk for twenty minutes. We didn't say a single word; he just worked on his papers while I watched. I'd like to say for my mom's sake that both of us had a sit down and had a long heart to heart talk, but the old man and I were never built like that."

Now that Kurenai thought about it, the times she was in the Hokage's office with Asuma, while both father and son spoke even sharing a laugh or two, they never really said anything else of importance to one another. There wasn't anger between them, least not anymore from what she could tell or feel from both.

It was like they simply moved on from their differences without hashing it out. That's the best way she could put it.

The genjutsu mistress held back a sigh, wondering if all Sarutobi men were like that, too stubborn to talk about what they felt, yet not as proud as to admit that they were wrong... Without openly acknowledging it of course. She didn't have enough experience with their clan to come to a conclusion. Maybe it was just Asuma and his father weren't good at expressing themselves like that.

It made her wonder how did Asuma's sister got along with their father, how she got along with Asuma. Kurenai hadn't really met her, being elite ANBU under direct orders from the Hokage tended to keep her and her spouse busy, and she couldn't remember a time when Asuma would speak about her in detail.

She wondered if the death of young Konohamaru's parents would still weighted heavily on the conscience of these two Sarutobi men.

 _'Maybe that's it,'_ the Genjutsu mistress mentally mused; _'Neither of them want to lose anyone else;'_ Well that was her opinion she was sticking to. Walking over, she place her hand into his larger one giving a faint squeeze; "You need anything?"

"A cigarette?" That earned him a very dry displeased look; "least I'm honest about it."

"I pray Konohamaru never picks up the habit."

Now that earned her a dry look from Asuma; "He's a Sarutobi, we're all smokers..."

"Well, you lot do like to breath out fire and smoke" She couldn't help but deadpan. The Sarutobi were known for their intense fire control, not to mention a certain ash spewing technique her lover was very proficient at came to mind. Perhaps she was deluding herself, or being a bit inconsiderate. They were ninja; they were allowed to pick up a habit to help them deal with this kind of life.

Even if she did find it distasteful…

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

Dashing from rooftops to rooftops in Tanzaku, the five made their way out of the town as Karin soon picked up Tsunade's chakra signature. It was not long as they had come to the entrance of a large cave. The glasses wearing Uzumaki explained this was how Orochimaru created his more hidden bases in enemy territory by using the natural caverns as perfect hideouts, then expanding upon them with Earth users to further create a more useful base of operation.

It was clever, Jiraiya had to admit. And sounded like Orochimaru, anyone could get confused or lost in a cave depending on its size. Apply the proper traps and genjutsu and entering one could be a death sentence.

Following Karin's lead as they entered, it did not take her long in finding the usual pattern of Oto as they made their way through the correct tunnel network. "Who is this person hime is healing?" Jiraiya whispered keeping his eyes sharp for any enemy; "They have to be extremely important to Orochimaru to go this far."

"If I had to guess, Kimimaro," Karin walked carefully beside her blond cousin. "He is perhaps the most dangerous elite Orochimaru has. He contracted a rare illness that none of Oto's medics could figure out."

The instant they had entered the cave Kushina kept her eyes open for any seal traps. Already she had discovered various layers of detection seals. A bit of concentration and proper application of chakra and she could rewrite them, bypassing their detection fields so it wouldn't trigger any alarm.

"What's so special about this Kimimaro guy?" Naruto asked.

Karin's lips pursed nervously. "He's a Kaguya"

Kushina nearly lost her control when she deactivated yet another seal, her violet eyes widened with disbelief. Jiraiya felt the hairs of his neck stand on end at the mention of that name. "Fuck..." The both swore in near unison.

"Um..." Naruto's confused gaze shifted between them. "That's a bad for us I take it?"

Shizune spoke up; "The Kaguya clan were perhaps one of the most brutal clans to ever exist other than the ancient Ichimonji. They had a Kekkai Genkai called Shikotsumyaku which allowed them to manipulate their bone structure into nearly anything."

"'Were'?"

"Their own savagery destroyed them, or so I thought," Jiraiya felt a headache coming; "Orochimaru always had a fondness for rare bloodlines, I shouldn't be surprised."

"We're in for a fight, kids" Kushina simply stated finding another seal.

"So when you say 'manipulate their bone structure';" Naruto face scrunched up in distaste as his mind wondered. "Do you mean-?"

"Their bones would twist and grow and pierce through their skin to function as extremely hard weapons"

"...Gross"

"Eh" Jiraiya shrugged. "Six out of ten among the grossest things I've seen" Truthfully he wasn't looking forward to this one bit. The Kaguya were a barbaric clan, for Orochimaru to have gotten his hands on one... He looked at Shizune and asked; "How long has Orochimaru and his lackeys been here?"

"Around two weeks" Shizune answered back. "He's been making Tsunade-sama treat his servant daily" Her face grew concerned. "She said at the rate they were going, his recovery would be swift... today was to be the last session, after it, Orochimaru's servant will be rid of the disease and it'll only be a matter of time before he is at his original strength"

At that Karin gulped in terror. "This is bad, this very, very bad" She felt cold sweat gathered on her neck. "Before his disease Kimimaro was insanely strong. Easily an elite S-Class. His bone-made weapons and techniques are very powerful, not to mention his bone density grants him immense defensive power. And by what I observed, the skin would not suffer a single scarring or wound from his bones coming out, which means either his skin works in tandem with his Kekkei Genkai or he has an advanced healing factor..."

Both former ANBU captain and Sannin gave each other a long dry look. Like fighting that traitorous snake bastard was going to be hard enough, add in the Kaguya, ugh... "Leave Orochimaru and this Kimimaro to me and Kushina," Jiraiya stated.

Karin quickly nodded with agreement, wanting no part of either. Naruto looked to his mother who looked back at him; "Will you be alright?"

"We'll be fine; this isn't a battle you're ready for yet."

"Hostages should be the priority" Karin spoke. "While Orochimaru has them in his grasp, we won't be able to make a move against him without risking their lives"

"Which is why you two will look for the hostages" The sage said with authority. "Kushina, Shizune and I will sneak in and make our way to Tsunade and the snake. Your sensor ability will help this go more smoothly"

Karin nodded, determined to not let them down.

"But, doesn't that mean you three needs to wait before you attack Orochimaru until the people are safe?" Naruto pondered. "How do we let you know?"

"I brought some radios with me" Jiraiya points out before rubbing his chin. "Hmm, but the deeper we go in the caves the less it's likely they'll work"

Kushina smirked. "I've got that covered" She pulled out a pair of tags with seals of them; she slapped one on her arm and gave the other to Naruto. "These seals work at a frequency. If you channel chakra through one it'll send a soft pulse through the other, when you get the hostages free activate the seal to give us the all clear"

* * *

 **XxX ~ Tsunade ~ XxX**

* * *

The slug princess said nothing as she neared the end of her 'patient's' treatment. Kimimaro did not even speak; he had not spoken a single word as he simply watched the legendary medic treat him for every session. Honestly it was unnerving, never mind he being a Kaguya was frightening enough.

The thought of restoring a strong servant of Orochimaru back to his even more frightening original strength was easily the second stupidest thing she had ever done. First one was leaving Konoha in the first place, which; if she hadn't done so then she wouldn't be in this situation all together.

While this man seemed to lack the bloodthirsty impulses his clan was known for, he was calm in a terrifying way. He cared for nothing except being a useful tool for his master.

And a tool he was, Orochimaru was doing this just to regain something after all his recent loses. Her former teammate cared not for the lives of his soldiers any more than one cares for a useful weapon or an instrument necessary to achieve their goals. They may chip and crack, but as long as they held some use then that it was all that mattered to him.

Tsunade remembered a time when Orochimaru (while still twisted in a way, honestly, they should have seen the signs...) conducted research and experiments in an ethical fashion, a time where he actually cared for the health of his subjects. All to help protect their home.

It pained her to see that nothing remained of her old friend.

Speaking of her old friend, Orochimaru had not left the room as he watched her every move like a hawk. Not far away was that grey haired weirdo that seemed like the second in command to the snake. Every session both had been in the room, not trusting some mook to ensure she did something funny.

"How are you feeling Kimimaro?" Kabuto spoke up.

"I will be ready for use once again to you Orochimaru-Sama. And your vessel if you require one."

Another thing that made Tsunade's blood run cold, he actually perfected that horrible immortality jutsu by jumping his soul from body to body. It was beyond sickening that he actually fell this far into madness.

"Hmm," the snake Sannin rubbed his chin in brief contemplation; "if it comes to that I will, for now I need you as my weapon."

"Yes my lord."

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

As they stealthily made their way through the caverns, Karin couldn't help but be reminded it what it was to live under Orochimaru's yoke. Constantly staying in the darkness, damp and forgotten ruins, or bases built up from scratch underground. Tolerating the experiments done upon her, bearing witness to atrocities committed in the name of 'science'. Well, Orochimaru's definition of 'science'.

She felt ashamed she ever worked for that man. But she had been a lost girl with nowhere to go. Orochimaru came with a thinly veiled mask of kindness, promising her a place to belong. And Karin had been foolish enough to accept... but the promise of a place to call home, to a child who had none, was a brilliant as a diamond even if what she found was something dark and macabre.

The people employed by Orochimaru, she knew many were like she had been once. Alone and with no place in the world to call their own. Others were mercenaries, bloodthirsty and sadistic men and women who had been rejected by the world, who either answered the Snake Sannin's calling because they wanted to fill their pockets with money, or their hands with blood.

In a way, she pitied the lost ones. But she had made her choice, and so had they. She would fight for her family.

...Even so, it unnerved her that Naruto looked so cheery, even as they dragged the unconscious body of an Oto-nin into a dark corner where no one would find him.

"Okay" She had to ask; "What's got you in such a good mood?"

"I just" He nearly laughed in a whisper. "I'm happy things make sense. Granny wants to come home with us, I know that now. Orochi-teme is just manipulating her"

Ah, so that was it. He was happy that his grandmother wanted to be with her family in the end.

But seeing someone smiling as they sneak up on a guard and put them in a sleeper hold with a smile was damn weird; "I have the strangest relatives," the redhead quietly muttered as they dragged another sleeping Oto-Nin into a well-hidden corner.

Both keep close to a wall as they as they silently walk through a long corridor; "Least I can say I'm saner than my mom."

"...Nah, you're just better at hiding it," Karin flatly responded which made her blond cousin slump his head. Nearing a four-way intersection the redhead concentrates; "We keep going forward and then right. I feel least a dozen chakra signatures, all civilian level."

Naruto nodded as they continued onwards. Soon enough they arrived at their destination, peering over the corner they saw a lone Oto-nin standing guard in front of cell bar's, behind said bar were a group of people who huddled up close for comfort and warmth. Their faces were filled with fear; these people had been living with constant terror for days.

Karin did a series of handseals and stretched her palms forward her genjutsu took place, and the guard turned sharply to his right, the opposite direction of two young ninjas were, as he heard a noise. "Who's there?!" He exclaimed, taking out a kunai.

They moved swiftly, Karin dashed forward and gave a sweeping kick at his legs. He yelped as he fell to the ground, while Naruto quickly stood over him with a crystal kunai pointed at his face. The prisoners cried out in shock at the sight of what had transpired, they muttered among themselves, some even whispering with excitement, hoping the newcomers were here to save them.

"Where's the key?" Naruto demanded.

The ninja beneath him shook his masked face. "T-There isn't one. The lock works with a seal. You need to do the right combination of hand seals or the cell detonates"

"What's the combination?" Karin joined in as she expected the lock, he was telling the truth.

"If I tell you, will you let me go?" He frightfully asked.

Naruto's eyes narrowed. "So you can warn your boss?"

The ninja scoffed. "Oh to hell with Orochimaru. I ain't dying for that sick fuck"

Heh, so Orochimaru wasn't popular with all of his subordinates. Naruto shared a look with his red eyed cousin, she shrugged as she replies. "I don't think he's lying"

"Fine" Naruto nodded and looked at the Oto-Nin. "What's the combination?"

"Boar, Rat, Snake, Horse, Boar, Snake and Hare" He answered without missing a beat.

Karin tried the sequence and planted her palm against the lock, guiding the chakra. To her delight, she heard the lock moving and cell door opened. The people cried out in joy as they stood up, ready to escape. "Shhhh, be quiet" Karin understood how they felt, but they needed to silent if they wanted to escape.

"There, they're out" The Oto-nin said. "Can I go now?"

Naruto looked at him for a moment. He finally stood up and removed the kunai, much to the older ninja's relief. "You can go. But it's best for you if you leave now"

"Right. Fuck this job" The former Oto-Nin grunted as he turned tail and left, muttering to himself all the way. "'Be a ninja', they said, 'It's a great way to make money'..."

"Depends on who you work for," Naruto commented back as he shrugged when he didn't get a reply. He looked back to the civilians; "You guys follow me and my cousin, will get you all to safety."

A young woman, near maybe Ayame-Neechan's age was almost in tears; "Thank you," she whispered.

The two Uzumakis nod with a small smile as they quietly led the group out of this damn hellhole of Orochimaru's. "When we get them out of the cave alert aunt Kushina," Karin whispered.

"You got it."

* * *

 **XxX ~ Tsunade ~ XxX**

* * *

The buxom blond sighed as she lowered her hands as he jutsu faded; "It's finished, you should rest for least a few days."

Kimimaro said nothing as Kabuto walked over to the other side of the operation's bed. Performing a quick inspection jutsu, the grey haired medic nodded; "He's clear, the disease is gone."

"Magnificent," Orochimaru nearly purred as he smiled; "Thank you Tsunade."

"Thank me by letting go of those people," the Senju woman turned sharply as she glared.

"Oh and I will" He looked so damn smug she wanted to punch him in the face so bad... "After we go through my notes for Kimimaro's medicine, I don't want any surprises"

Tsunade frowned. "That wasn't the bargain. I healed him that means the people can go"

"Bargain?" Orochimaru found the word hilarious. "My dear, this was never a bargain. You do what I say or the hostages die, you've never had a say in this"

Her fists shook in anger. _'Where are you guys?'_

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

Kushina and Jiraiya stood in front of the door that would lead them to Orochimaru's 'operating room', where Tsunade was located, as well as the snake and his lackeys. Shizune stood close to Kushina.

The fiery redhead tapped her feet while looking at the seal in her arm. "Come on, kids, come on..." She muttered impatiently. Every second was precious, they couldn't waste anymore.

The seal faintly flared with energy, sending a tingling sensation on her skin. "Oh" She smiled. "There we go"

Shizune prepared her poisoned senbon. Jiraiya nodded and quickly did a series of hand signs. Kushina grabbed her blade and with a chakra enhanced kick she sent the door flying into the room, revealing their shell shocked occupants

Kimimaro reacted with inhuman speed; he stood from the table and quickly pulled out a blade-sharp bone from his palm. The makeshift weapon cut the flying door in half, the two pieces harmless avoiding his master. He looked at his hand and flexed it. _'Still not at 100%'_ the full recovery of his power would take time.

Tsunade took her chance and jumped back, standing next to the two Konoha ninja and her apprentice. "About time you showed up"

"What is this?!" Orochimaru snarled in rage at the audacity.

"It's a surprise party!" Kushina cheerfully informed. "And here's your present!"

Jiraiya let go of the energy he had been gathering, it spew from his mouth in a violent torrent of flames directed at his former teammate. Snake eyes widened in shock as the fireball grew close in the span of a second.

* * *

 **XxX ~ moments prior ~ XxX**

* * *

"Over here, quickly!" Naruto waved his hand at the former prisoners as they directed them through the cave entrance, the frightened people sounded so overjoyed at just being able to feel the morning sun on their faces again.

Karin did a quick head count, reaching out with her sensing ability to see if they were missing anyone. "That's all of them" She looked at one of the civilians, a man who looked to be in his middle years. "Can you get back to the town on your own?"

"I-I think so, yes" He nodded hesitantly.

Not satisfied with that answer, Naruto just made a few clones. "Follow them, they'll get you there"

"Bless you..." The man muttered in gratitude as he and his people followed the clones.

"Alright" As soon as they got to a reasonable safe distance, Naruto went for the tag on his arm that his mother gave him and activated it. "There, mom should have got the message"

They stood in silence for a few seconds.

"You think they need hel-?"

Karin's words died in her mouth when the ground exploded. From the depths of the cave, fire and sheer force shattered the earth outwards as chunks of stone and dirty went up flying, steaming and flaming with smoldering heat. Trees were torn apart by the blast as great cloud of dust and smoke went up into the air.

Having been thrown back by the strength of the blast, the two young teens painfully sat back up to look at the smoldering crater in disbelief. "Well that escalated quickly..." Naruto muttered. They quickly moved to stand closer to the great whole in the ground.

"You were trying to blown us up too, you moron?!" Tsunade's voice was heard from inside the crater, they could see her form as the smoke settled.

"Yeah, okay" Jiraiya coughed, he was on one knee. His clothes slightly singed and dirty. "Maybe doing a high rank explosive technique in closed quarters wasn't the best idea"

"I think that should always be the first plan" Kushina threw in her two cents as she patted her cloak.

Her mother grunted in annoyance. "Of course you'd say that..." She rolled her eyes. "At least tell me he's dead"

And because the universe hated her, the smoke in front of them soon clear to reveal a large bone-like rugged shield standing amidst the rubble. The white material shifted, retracting back to its owner's limbs. Orochimaru was standing there next to Kabuto, and aside from the singed clothing they didn't look any worse for wear.

His snake-like eyes stared at them in fury.

The legendary medic sighed. "Of course it wouldn't be that easy..."

"Oh yeah," Kushina gave a cheeky grin; "your leverage is long gone, so we're taking my mother back home. Right after we kill you," the redhead said darkly.

Without even a word, Kimimaro created a bone sword and slashed upwards, shattering a crystal spear aimed for his master. Orochimaru grabbed a broken piece before it fell, inspecting it before he looked up to see both Naruto and Karin; "We meet again Naruto-kun, your skills have gotten better. That was a very good spear"

"Would have looked better through your skull," the blond snarled till shock came to his eyes seeing the one person he was not expecting; "K-Kabuto..."

Adjusting his glasses, the grey haired medic lightly smirked; "Been a while, why the long look?" He feigned a clueless gaze to his master and Kimimaro before smirking back to the blond; "Oh right, guess you weren't told yet."

His knuckles popped, as Naruto lightly seethed; "How long..."

How long he'd been traitor, was the question he was expecting. "Oh, ever since my old days with the ANBU"

The shinobi from Konoha could only stare with wide eyes at such a casual declaration of something so horrible. "What?" Jiraiya muttered. "I don't understand..." From what he knew, Kabuto Yakushi was the sole survivor of a massacre that happened in the outskirts of the Land of Fire; the boy was taken to an orphanage and raised there, and later on joined the shinobi force along with some of the children. He had seen no records about him operating in the ANBU whatsoever.

"Your understanding is neither required nor wanted" Orochimaru's right hand man replied. "But if you want to know, you can ask dear old Danzo."

Tsunade looked at him in confusion. "Danzo?"

"Oh. My. Fucking. Gods!" Kushina exclaimed in utter exasperation. "Did that old fart have a hand in every bad thing that happened to our village?! C'mon people I'm asking seriously here! Cause it's starting to look that way!"

The Snake Sannin merely looked on amused. "Oh? It seems you've discovered some of Danzo's little dealings. Though... I wonder what has you so worked up"

The Uzumaki merely fell silent, they couldn't let Orochimaru know anything about Hiruzen's current state, nor about any of the things had they discovered about the former Councilman.

He shrugged. "No matter. Right now, our focus should be about what's going to happen here" His snake eyes shifted to Karin, and she trembled under his gaze. "Ahhh Karin-chan, you have no idea how... disappointed I was with your deception"

She gulped. The young redhead blinked as her cousin stood defensively in front of her; "She's with her family, I won't let any of you bastards hurt her."

His declaration only made the snake Sannin smiled dangerously; "You think you can protect her from me Naruto-kun? Let's see how far you've come since our time in the forest."

Before Naruto or Karin could blink, Kabuto was in front of them as he thrusted a scalpel made of chakra. "Too slow!"

A second chakra shrouded hand met his; Shizune had swiftly intercepted his strike with her own scalpel. A determined glare adorned her eyes as she looked at the silver haired medic. Naruto and Karin took their chance to jump back and gain some distance.

"Ahhh" Kabuto found the challenge delightful. "I've wanted to test my skills against yours"

"You kids get out of here!" Shizune shouted as she and Kabuto began their duel, sharp blades of bure chakra clashing in quick succession.

Naruto refused. "No way!"

His mother looked up from the crater. "Naruto, Karin, stand back!"

"What?!" The jinchuuriki shouted.

Orochimaru chuckled maliciously "Ohhh don't be like that Kushina. Hmm" He stroked his chin as if in thought. "Although... for the fight I have in mind to be fair we must even the numbers a bit" He pulled out a kunai... and cut into his own arm, letting the blood flow freely.

Tsunade let out a horrified gasp.

Kushina's eyes widened as she understood what the snake had done. "Oh crap..!" She grabbed the Sannin by the shoulders and shook her slightly. "Mom, come on snap out it! You can't let this control you!"

But Tsunade's mind was somewhere else entire. Blood... So much blood... blood on Dan's chest, on her hands...

"It's useless" Jiraiya replied, a curse under his breath. "She hasn't gotten over her trauma" Unless Tsunade snapped out of it on her own, she wouldn't be able to join the fight.

Orochimaru chuckled. "Now that our dear princess is out of the way" He slammed his hand into the ground, making the Konoha shinobi tense, expecting one of the giant snakes to appear... only for nothing to happen at all, not even a burst of smoke.

"Huh?" Never did Orochimaru look more confused than he did now, of that Jiraiya was sure. He slammed his hand once again, the blood splashing against the floor as he applied more force. "What is-? Hrgh!" He grunted as he tried again. Kimimaro could only helplessly stare at his master.

Kushina's eyes widened in surprise. "He can't summon..."

"Damn it!" The Snake Sannin snarled. Why wasn't Manda or any of this brood answering his call?! Ugh, now wasn't the time. If he couldn't summon Manda then he'd invoke one the snakes he had personally bred and modified. Thinking on the specific entity he wanted to summon, Orochimaru finally succeeded and in a cloud of smoke he invoked a giant black mamba. The Sannin and his subordinate jumped atop of its head.

"Shit!" The Toad Sannin swore and quickly brought his own companion into the fight. The great horned toad Gamaken stood ready to fight, bringing his shield and his sasumata to bear. "Sorry to bother you Gamaken" Jiraiya quickly apologized. "But 'Bunta would have my hide if I summoned him to fight just a common snake."

The great toad slammed the butt of his weapon into the ground. **"I'll try to be useful to you, Jiraiya-sama"**

Looking at her mother, Kushina realized it was hopeless to try and make her come to her senses, not right now, not when there was a fight to win.

Sighing, she gently gave Tsunade's shoulders a squeeze. "Be safe" She stops and rolled her neck. "So I guess the Kaguya is mine then? Been a while since I fought someone from a bloodthirsty clan such as his"

"Oh, I'm afraid not, Kushina" Orochimaru smirked with arrogance. "Kimimaro will handle your dear boy and Karin"

Her knuckles popped as she tightened her fists. "Over my dead body..."

He ignored her threat. "You see, I was preparing a nice surprise for the next time I saw you" With a series of handsigns, a coffin bursted from the ground below, making Kushina steel herself to face whoever that bastard dared to desecrate now. "I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. Last time you didn't get to say goodbye after all"

As the coffin lid hit the ground time slowly froze as all the color vanished from Kushina's face; "No..," her voice nearly a trembling whisper. Jiraiya's eyes nearly popped from his head as he soon frowned deeply at his former friend who grinned sinisterly back.

Sharply turning his head, Naruto's cerulean orbs froze as a figure slowly stepped out of the Edo Tensei coffin; "...A-Aunt Mikoto..."

Raven locks going below her shoulder blades, wearing her usual yukata as Kushina remembered. The late Uchiha matriarch rubbed her eyes; "W-Where am I?"

"You've been asleep for quite a while Mikoto-chan," Orochimaru said loud enough for the women to look sharply up at him as he stood on his giant snake; "Welcome back to the living world." He only chuckled in amusement at her angry glare; "Ah don't be that way my dear. Someone is here to see you."

Not understanding what was going on, Mikoto's gaze shift to her surroundings. She was in some kind of battlefield that much was obvious. The broken earth was the result of a powerful jutsu; she could feel the lingering heat from chakra infused flames. The giant summons stood ready to face each other in lethal combat, their riders were the traitor Orochimaru and on the great toad was Jiraiya.

Mikoto couldn't remember when it had been the last time she saw him. She could also make out the figure of, all of people, Tsunade, who looked petrified with fear. And close to her was...

No... No that couldn't be possible. A dream, this had to be a dream, for only in her dreams did Mikoto ever see her again. Only in her dreams she saw those beautiful red locks, those violet eyes so full of life and kindness.

This was all just a dream, Mikoto was sure. Kushina was long gone, dead on that terrible day when the world stopped making sense to her, when everything just... didn't matter anymore. It wasn't the same because she wasn't there, and it'd never be the same again. Mikoto knew she was still in her home, waiting for her eldest son to carry out his duty and-

"Mikoto"

...But no dream, no fantasy of any kind, could ever come close to inflict as much emotion in her as Kushina's voice did. The same voice that made her heart flutter and bring a smile to her face just by hearing it. The joy Kushina made her feel just by being her.

She didn't know how this was possible, but was she there... She was here, Kushina was here... alive.

Mikoto cried.

"Y-You're alive!" The Uchiha woman did not even care how broken her voice sounded; "You're alive. H-how are you alive!? I saw... I saw the body..."

"Blood clone," Kushina replied throatily, failing to control her emotions or tears as they formed from her eyes; "I used that old scroll Tsukiko-Baachan gave me."

It actually worked!? The late Uchiha matriarch could not stop her tears as she only smiled. Thanking whatever God allowed this miracle. "Aunt Mikoto!" Shifting her eyes they widened seeing the little blond boy who looked so much like Minato and Kushina.

"N-Naruto..." Here he was all grown up and... "Kushina, I-" Mikoto's body seized, and she threw herself at Kushina. The Uzumaki gasped in surprise as she jumped back, narrowly avoiding a sweeping kick. "I-It's not me!"

"Naruto, stand back!" His mother commanded, and Naruto quickly returned to his cousin.

"Enough with the reunion" Orochimaru ordered; his hands in a hand seal as he commanded Mikoto's reanimated body to attack. "Kimimaro, get those two" He pointed at the direction of the two young Uzumaki.

His loyal servant bowed regally. "As you command my lord" And jumped down from the snake.

Then, it was chaos as the battle was fully joined. Gamaken leap forward and struck at the mamba, but the snake deftly moved out of the way while Orochimaru attack with a torrent of wind. The toad's shield held strong, and Jiraiya countered by spitting several fireballs at the Snake Sannin and his pet. They chased each other continuously, striking when an opening became possible while their riders supported them with long ranged techniques.

Brief clashes of metal occurred in the middle of air as Orochimaru and Jiraiya jumped, longsword and kunais met in a shower of spark before they returned to their mounts and continued attacking from a distance.

Kimimaro landed several feet away from the two young teens, and looked at them with a cold stare. The killing intent emanating from him was... so tame in comparison to that of the likes of Zabuza. Yet somehow the dread they felt was all the stronger for it. He would kill them without hesitation, without any sort of anger or bloodlust that would manifest as killing intent. This man would simply kill them because he had been ordered to.

With a swing of his arm, several bone shards flew away at great speed. Naruto hastily rose a wall of crystal, and the impact of the bone fragments cracked into the crystal without problem, creating large dents into the material. Kimimaro produced two bone blades and jumped over the wall, he deflected crystal kunais sent his way without difficulty and performed dive kick as he fell. Two sharp bones piercing through his sandals.

Naruto and Karin jumped away, and the force of his landing cracked the ground around him.

"Hmph" The oto-nin grunted in displeasure. "Were I was in my prime, you would have been dead already" He twirled his weapons as he stared at them emotionlessly. "I suppose this execution will serve as training to regain my edge" And lunged himself at them.

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

Kushina swore as she dodged straight punch from Mikoto, her friend's style was the same as it has ever been. Fast, rigid yet highly precise. With a forearm she blocked the high kick aimed at her voice. "There are so many things I want to ask you!" Mikoto exclaimed as she struggled for control. "So many things to say!" Her body performed a somersault kick, making Kushina back-flip to avoid it. When she regained her footing, Mikoto was already face to face, eyes involuntarily blazing into her Sharingan. "So much I want to apologize for!"

Red and black streaked through the area as Uchiha and Uzumaki clashed; "You have nothing to apologize for!" Kushina blocking Mikoto palm thrust while avoiding the Sharingan.

"I wasn't there when the Kyuubi got loose. It's my fault Minato-kun is gone! I should have been there!" Mikoto broke away going into a flurry of strikes.

"How in the seven depths of hell do think I would blame you for that?!" Kushina outright screamed out while going on the offensive; "It was some bastard in a mask named Tobi! That's who killed Minato, not you! You had Sasuke and Itachi to look after for heaven's sake!"

"Tobi?" Mikoto didn't know that name. She shook her head, knowing she wouldn't get an answer, at least not a short one she could understand. Not under this circumstances. "But still, I-"

Kushina grabbed her arms in a hold and pulled her close, standing face to face with Mikoto, their noses nearly touching. She whispered. "I know the truth behind the Massacre"

Mikoto's breath was caught in her throat. The shock and sudden surge of emotions was enough to momentarily stun the Edo Tensei's command of attack.

Familiar pain and shame blossomed in her chest. Years of buried grief came to the surface.

She remembered when the clan decided they had enough of their mistreatment by the village. The elders called for more power, Fugaku desired to 'restore the Uchiha to their former glory'... But nobody said anything about all the blood that would spilled. They didn't care about who would die as long as they had what they desired.

Mikoto was against it, she could have said something... But what was the point? Ever since she was young her life had been decided by the clan. Everything. Her voice didn't count.

And honestly? She didn't care, Mikoto hadn't cared at all. Kushina was gone. All she had left was an empty life in a family who treated her as a valuable asset than a fellow Uchiha. A future where her children would be raised by the twisted ideals of their cursed clan.

Sasuke and Itachi, they had been her reason to smile everyday... But even so, her will to go on had died with her who had been so dear to her heart.

She knew how things would end. With them at the headsman's axe... or as it happened, at her son's blade.

But Mikoto didn't care. That crushing emptiness at last would be over, no more pain... no more loneliness.

Her greatest regret was the heavy duty her eldest had taken, and the bleak and painful life her youngest was left with.

"I should have said something," Mikoto resting her forehead against Kushina's; "instead my Itachi was forced to kill us all. My son was…" The brunette couldn't speak as her tears renewed. "Sasuke!"

"He's alright, I'm looking after him. Which is a chore trust me," Kushina weakly smirked. Mikoto lightly laughed, it was always so simple to just laugh whenever Kushina tried to cheer her up; "Thank you for looking after Naruto when you could."

"I-" Mikoto back away as her body moved on its own, attacking Kushina again. "Damn this body!"

Mikoto's hands moved, forming a series of hand signs. The seals and the way her chakra flowed told her which technique she was doing. "Careful! I'm doing my Fire Whip technique!"

"I know what do!" The moment Mikoto had announced her technique, Kushina began did a several handsigns in quick succession.

Soon enough, Mikoto's hands were shrouded in flames. The fire extended, longer and longer until two thick threads of searing flames form. With a swat of her arms, the whips moved directly towards Kushina, creating swaths of flames in her path.

But Kushina was already prepared. From her mouth she path long needles of highly concentrated water, striking at the middle of each whip. The water doused the flames and severed the whips, the flames dissipating in the air. Before the whips could regrow, Kushina directed her next attack directly at Mikoto. This time the water struck her hands, completely canceling the fire technique.

Mikoto sighed in relief. "As long as I can tell you my movements, you should have no trouble with-" Her words died in her mouth as she felt something pierce the back of her neck. It didn't feel painful, but it was very strange.

Kushina swore under her breath as she saw the kunai with a talisman. The same talisman that had enslaved her father during Suna's and Oto's invasion of Konoha.

Standing on his great snake was Orochimaru, arm outstretched, as if he had just thrown something. The mamba was locked in combat with the toad, while Jiraiya was busy fending off dozens of smaller snakes that crawled up on Gamaken.

The Snake Sannin sighed in the same manner a frustrated teacher did with an unruly student. "Kids these days, always talking during their fights" He raised a pair of fingers. "You should really learn the virtue of silence"

* * *

 **XxX ~ Naruto and Karin ~ XxX**

* * *

A large dozen of beautifully crafted pure crystal birds had appeared and begun to take shape around Naruto and Karin as their opponent ducks, weaves, and slashes through least over a dozen crystal hummingbirds that attack him. The Kaguya, while not fully recovered after his final treatment proved as big as threat as his cousin expected. Using his clan's trademark bloodline, the young Uzu teens could barely keep their enemy from tearing them to shreds.

They both mentally thanked their senseis for not only building their skills, but also learning how to be a team. Both Naruto and Karin proved they were quite a good match with their sparing sessions against Sasuke and Sakura, or a few of their other fellow Genin.

With quick hands the blond now created crystal dragon which roared as it lunged forward as Kimimaro finished off the last hummingbird. He said nothing as he held his bone swords. Both Uzu teens gawked as the Kaguya sliced the crystal dragon in half and both pieces crashed hard on either side.

"You have got to be kidding," Karin whispered; "I even mixed in a Genjutsu with our attacks." But Kimimaro just snapped out of them in but a second…

The Kaguya only stared with an empty gaze; "Interesting, you wield the Shoton as well. While skilled, you're not at her level."

That got Naruto's attention; "Someone else uses Shoton?"

"Answers to your questions are not necessary. Your corpses will soon serve as test subjects for Orochimaru-sama. And you know full well what he will do to you Karin," Kimimaro voice blank, devoid of emotion as he spoke.

The young redhead only lightly shook as she felt the fear crawling up her spine. "I told Orochi-Teme once already. None of you sons of bitches are ever going to hurt Karin," Naruto proclaimed loudly.

"Uzumakis always did value family above anything else. But are your words empty bravado or can you back them up?"

"Tch!" Naruto grunted, feeling very useless at the moment. If this guy wasn't at his prime then he didn't want to know what he'd like once he regained his edge. They just weren't ready to face someone of this caliber. It reminded him of his and Sasuke's spar with the princess, or their run in with that shark-guy, but at least they weren't trying to kill them. At least not actively on the fish-face's part.

"I think we need back up" Karin suggested.

A quick look over the battlefield told him that wasn't possible, his mother was fighting Mikoto. The clash of the snake and toad made the ground tremble; he barely caught a glimpse of blurs moving at high speed, clashing steel and sparks. That just had to be Orochimaru and Jiraiya. Shizune was putting up and admirable fight but slowly losing ground against Kabuto

His grandmother was just... standing there, a horrified expression on her face. Was her phobia of blood really that strong?

Shaking his head, he decided to call for a bit more of firepower. He bit his thumb and drew blood; his cousin quickly followed and did the same.

With their palms slammed on the ground, they let out two twin cries; " _Kuchiyose no Jutsu_!"

Two large clouds of smoke burst into existence, and there came two large serpentine dragons. Not the giant kind, but still at least twice the size of a grown man. One had green scales while the other was a darkish brown. Hein's older brothers were a welcoming sight.

"Uzumaki-sama" Intoned Hui Zhong respectfully. "We have come to assist"

"Good to see ya again kid!" Jian grunted as he swirled in the air; "What do you guys need?"

Karin points in the direction of Kimimaro; "Will you help us against him? But please be very careful, he is a Kaguya and highly-" She stopped as both dragons growled deeply as their gazes shifted to their enemy.

"A cockroach of _that_ bloodline survived eh," the brown dragon growled. A reddish orange glow came from his mouth.

Frost danced around the green dragon's maw; "We shall aid you. And rid this world of that wretched abomination!"

Both dragons roared as a stream of frost and fire shoots for their prey. Naruto and Karin blink as they look at one another. What the hell got them so worked up? Taking the small breather both sharply look over seeing Kushina and Mikoto's fight being practically even.

It was almost like dance, their strikes and counter strikes flowed as they moved like the wind. Both teens could barely see them but took noticed of the ground beneath them was starting to crack upwards; "MOM, THE GROUND!"

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

The redheaded woman perked up at the warning and looked down, but it was too late. Two great snakes burst from underneath the earth and wrapped themselves around her.

They tightened their grip, and Kushina screamed.

It was the first time he heard his mother scream in so much pain... and it was the most horrifying of sounds.

"MOM!" He shouted and quickly went after her, Karin urgently followed. Leaving their dragons to handle the Kaguya.

"Shit!" Jiraiya muttered under his breath, that moment of distraction gave Orochimaru an opening. The Snake Sannin delivered a powerful kick at the Toad Sage's face, sending him flying away from his mount and into the ground. Jiraiya rolled with fall, and lifted his glaring gaze, blood dripping from his lips. Orochimaru stood but a few feet away with a malicious smile, Kusanagi glistened with the sunlight.

Kushina kept screaming as more and more the snakes tried to crush her, the seals that reinforced her clothing and gear struggled to hold on under the pressure. She coughed blood, and looked with a pleading gaze at her old friend. "Mikoto..."

But Mikoto's mind was gone. All she could see were a pair of emotionless Sharingan. The Uchiha held up her open palm, ready to strike as flames shrouded it. Kushina shed a tear; fear for her own life was surpassed by the indignation, sadness and rage that someone she loved so much was being used as some kind of macabre puppet once again. She felt weak and powerless, unable to do anything.

And even with the chaos around her, Tsunade remained deft and blind to the world. All she could see was blood, blood everywhere. Her loved ones' blood, her own, Dan's, Nawaki's, the victims of the war, the patients she couldn't save. It was everywhere, flooding the ground, and she was drowning in it...

She could only sink further into that crimson darkness...

"D-Don't do this..."

But in that darkness, she heard her daughter's voice. She was desperately crying out for help.

"M-Mikoto, you're strong. You can fight this"

She was in pain, she was suffering...

"Please..."

Amidst all the blood, Tsunade saw a tear. Pure and crystalline. Kushina's tear. Someone was making her daughter cry.

Her daughter... Her little girl... The blood had vanished, her body no longer trembled. Kushina screamed out louder as they snakes continued to constrict her… then her body was loose in the air. Two fists lodged into both large snakes as they were sent flying across the landscape and splattering against a massive size boulder.

Kushina did not even feel herself hit the ground till looking up seeing her mother's enrage face staring at the corpses of the two serpents; "No one will ever harm my daughter while I'm around!" Tsunade roared with fury as Mikoto charged for her.

The Slug Sannin met her attack head on; the Uchiha's flame shrouded hand was torn to shreds like paper against the Senju's mighty fist. It went all the way to her shoulder until her arm was completely gone, straps of paper-like chakra struggled to reform.

But Tsunade gave the Edo Tensei no time, and with a devastating sweeping kick at Mikoto's midsection split her body in half. Mikoto did not even react as her body hit the floor. The chakra gathered in other to restore her and continue the assault, but Tsunade swiftly reached into the back of Mikoto's head and pulled out the talisman.

Mikoto blinked and her eyes suddenly changed. "W-What?" For what had to be the eleventh time this day, she was confused. "Why are my arms gone... and why are my legs over there?" It was disturbing to say the least; even if she saw her limbs slowly regenerating... that was even more disturbing.

"Sorry about that, Mikoto" Tsunade apologized with a wince.

The Uchiha looked up to her. "Tsunade-sama" She soon gasped as she saw Kushina, her body lying on the ground and wounded. "Kushina!"

Tsunade wasted no time and was soon over to her daughter, channeling the strongest medical technique she could she quickly began healing Kushina's wounds. A few bones had been broken, not to mention several blood vessels had been ruptured. Pfft, simple enough to heal.

"H-Hey mom" Kushina weakly smiled, already feeling better. Her mother did miracles as always. "Sorry about the mess"

"Bah" Tsunade scoffed. "You'll be fine, stop being such a crybaby" She licked her thumb and cleaned the blood around her daughter's lips.

"Ugh..." The redhead muttered in distaste. Finding her mother cleaning her like this to be more repulsive than the blood escaping her mouth.

"Oh stop fussing you"

As soon as Mikoto regenerated, she approached Kushina. Her emotions holding back the Edo Tensei's command. "Kushina, are you alright?" She asked with concern.

Kushina stood up with Tsunade's help; "I'm alright. Nothing some painkillers can't fix"

Fear crossed the Uchiha's features. "Did I do this?"

"Nah, it was those-" Kushina pointed at the corpses of the snakes, and winced at seeing their blood and remains splattered all over the ground. "Geez mom, you're savage as fuck"

Tsunade slapped her daughter across the back of her head. "Language"

"Oh sure" Kushina grumbled. "Hit the wounded person"

"You're standing aren't you? And you have me to thank for"

Watching the two bicker like this brought so many memories back to Mikoto, of times she thought were long gone and would never return. Seeing Kushina, smile, laugh, joke as she always did... just filled her with so much joy.

She couldn't help it, she laughed.

Mother and daughter blinked as they saw Mikoto laughing joyously at the sight; "I missed seeing that so much." The crack on her body began to faintly glow as she smiled tearfully; "Stay like this, that's all I can ask of you both."

Kushina lightly bit her bottom lip as Naruto and Karin were soon beside her; "Mi-chan..."

The late Uchiha matriarch only smiled as she looked to Naruto; "Be brave, and don't ever give up. I'm proud you came this far. I hope you and Sasuke are good friends."

Naruto lightly sniffed as he nodded; "He's a pain in the ass, but I'll look after him."

Mikoto giggled as she looked back to Kushina who was fighting her tears. "I'll never get this chance again," And in the blink of an eye Mikoto closed the distance between them and met her lips to one person beside Minato she loved most.

Naruto and Karin stared, and stared, then stared some more. Before numbly tilted their heads with blank looks in their eyes. "Eh?"

Even Jiraiya and Orochimaru, locked in a battle to the death, couldn't help but notice that and pause; "...What the hell?" The Toad Sage muttered in disbelief.

"Well… I suppose this explains a lot" The Snake Sannin muttered, filing this particular piece of new information for later use. He then charged at Jiraiya once more, this one cursed as he snapped out from his stupor.

Tsunade rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, not surprised in the least. "Took long enough..."

Kushina pulled Mikoto close, deepening their kiss as her lips formed a smile. Their foreheads rested against one another as they pulled away. "I love you..." The Uchiha muttered, letting out the most precious and hidden secret that laid in her heart for so long. "I've never stopped loving you…"

"Mi-chan..." Violent eyes looked at her with understanding and caring affection. "I'll always love you"

Tears fell down Mikoto's cheeks. "Thank you" The words sent her heart into frenzy, making it throb so painfully yet the weight she had carried for years never felt lighter. "Thank you so much for everything..."

Her body became light, and like an angel ascending to heaven her golden spirit departed from the earth.

The last thing she gave Kushina before she parted was a beautiful smile.

The redhead rubbed her eyes she took a deep breath and glared up angrily at the snake Sannin. Before she could move her mother stepped in front of her; "Go assist the dragons against the Kaguya, Kushina," Tsunade said in an authoritative tone; "Naruto, you and glasses go help Shizune. Orochimaru you leave to me and Jiraiya."

The blond Uzumaki was about to protested until he got a sharp look from his mother. Conceiving with a nod, Naruto and Karin dash off towards Shizune and Kabuto. Kushina glanced to her mother who looked back; "We'll talk later."

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

 _'Ugh,'_ Kimimaro held defensively a bone shield against the relentless attacks from both dragons. Fire and frost with claws and teeth both had been utterly vicious against him. _'Had I time to recover my strength...'_

His clothes were shredded from the waist up while his shield took quite a bit of damage. Not to say he not returned damage in kind, with his skill of bone weaponry has dealt several good hits on both the green and brown dragon.

Hui Zhong growled with fury; "This day shall be your last human. That wretched bloodline shall fall!"

Kimimaro said nothing as he created a serrated bone whip and attacked.

The whip latched onto the brown dragon's tail, sharp bone spikes dug through the scales and into the flesh, making the dragon roar in pain. Straight black lines came from his chest and extended over his body as the Cursed Seal of Earth activated, boosting his power. He knew it drained on his chakra but at least he didn't have to worry about shortening his life anymore.

With a pull, he threw the brown dragon over to the green one, they collided painfully as he drove them both into the ground, and their crash lifted a cloud of dust into the air.

Satisfied with his work, Kimimaro was about to continue his task when suddenly his instincts screamed danger. Bone spikes erupted from his back just in time for a blade to clash against them near his neck, sending bone splinters flying and making him stumble, yet he held his ground. He turned a mildly irritated eye at the attacker, and saw the Uzumaki woman giving him a deathly glare.

"Okay Mr. Skeleton, it's been a long day for me. So how about you just make it easy for everyone involved and just surrender?"

His answer was to swat an arm from which sprouted many sharp bones at her, forcing the Uzumaki to distance herself.

"Right" She sighed. "Should have figured reasoning with a Kaguya was a waste of time"

Hearing dual growls both dragon soon get back up and float beside the redhead; "You guys okay?"

"We will feel a lot better when this bastard is dead," the brown dragon snarled. "Sup!"

"Been having fun with Mr. Skeleton?" Kushina kept her eyes on the Kaguya who looked about ready to strike.

"The wretch here has been persistent," Hui Zhong responded. "But we won't stop till he is frozen ashes!"

"Awesome, shall we kick his ass together then dattebane?"

Jian breathed out a stream of fire as his answer.

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

Shizune lightly panted as she glared at her opponent. Kabuto looked at the dark haired woman with disappointment; "You haven't kept your skills up. I'm guessing Tsunade-sama is the same? A shame… As a fellow medic I have always highly respected her."

"You have a funny way of showing it," Shizune panted out.

"I've chose my path, I'll deal with the consequences when they come. But for now, I'll put you out of your misery."

Lunging forward with a chakra scalpel, the grey haired medic-nin senses screamed too late as a pair of black sandals smacked into his face sending him down hard to the ground. Shaking the mental cobwebs as he adjusted his glasses he saw two new arrivals into his fight.

Naruto said nothing while Karin helped Shizune catch her breath; "You know," the blond said quietly while Kabuto spat out some blood; "I actually thought we could have been friends." The blond recalled the month before the third exam and invasion happened. He had met the medical Nin a few times and was getting along well enough.

At hearing those words Kabuto gave the young teen a small grin; "We might have," he addressed honestly as he slowly stood up; "maybe in the next life Naruto. Just not this one," Kabuto formed dual chakra scalpels as he took stance.

Naruto formed two crystal kunai while Karin was beside him, grabbing her own ready to fight.

"Very well then" The Orochimaru's right hand smirked cruelly. "Your lives are forfeit"

Without another word, they lunged at each other. Naruto and Karin attacked from both sides, the chakra shrouding Kabuto's hands served to perfectly shield him from the kunai's edge, they clashed in quick succession to the point his strikes were nearly blurs. Karin ducked a slash from Kabuto's blade, spinning on the ground to give a sweeping low kick at his legs.

But Kabuto jumped, avoiding her strike while at the same time making Naruto's thrust of his crystal kunai to pass harmlessly underneath him. While in mid-air, he kicked Naruto in the cheek before grabbing his arm and spun him around, throwing him directly at Karin. Their bodies hit each other as Kabuto landed with great dexterity, grinning while the two groaned and helped each other stand up.

"You okay?" Karin asked.

Naruto's answer was too slowly looking at his left arm, the one that Kabuto had grabbed, with a troubled expression. "...I can't feel my arm"

"That's how he got me," Shizune spoke up having to sit down; "He used medical chakra to override parts of my nerves. Don't let his hands touch you."

"Though in your case Naruto-kun having the Kyuubi might help you, given your powerful healing factor," The condescending tone grated on the blond's nerves, "Then again if I touch your chest and stop all the functions of your heart... Game over."

Slowly Naruto's left hand began to move as his finger closed to a fist. "I'm gonna love to Rasengan you straight to hell."

"Give it your best shot," Kabuto retorted in a challenging tone.

The red eyed Uzumaki shared a look with her cousin; they nodded to each other and got ready. Karin pulled out various bombs while Naruto summoned a dozen clones.

The spectacle wearing Uzumaki threw the bombs, these exploded into clouds of deadly poisonous purple smoke.

Kabuto couldn't help it; he rolled his eyes and sighed. "Really?" While the visibility became nonexistent, it wasn't much of an issue for him. "You should realize by now Karin, merely taking away my visibility won't be enough"

Their plan, while solid, wouldn't work against someone of his caliber. He spotted several shaded figures moving through the smoke. He grinned.

Ducking the blow of a crystal spear, he swiftly struck the clone in the stomach, this one dispelled in smoke. Another one tried to attack him from behind, but was met with a backhand from the killer medic. Yet another attacked from above with a crystal blade on his hand while another came at him from the side with kunai in hand. Kabuto dodged the latter's strike and grabbed him by the arm, using him as a shield while the first clone's sword pierced right through his stomach.

The clone dispelled immediately, leaving the other one stunned momentarily as Kabuto finished him off with a chakra enhanced fist to the face. The smoke was already settling, so three more clones took their chance to strike. Charging directly at him, Kabuto had to laugh at how pointless their attempts were. Three kunais were all he needed, piercing them at the same time, one in the arm, and another in the stomach, yet another in the leg.

He turned around before they dispelled, satisfied when he heard them disappearing in a burst of smoke. The silver haired medic decided to stop this game and quickly run out from the smoke curtain, there he spotted Naruto and Karin charging at him. With a grin he shrouded his hands in chakra, the energy became two long blades.

He moved with a burst of tremendous speed, dodging their attacks and slipping right between them. With deadly he swung his chakra blades. The energy went right through their necks, severing arteries, tendons, muscle.

Their bodies felt limp to the ground. Dead.

Kabuto only smiled sadistically in his victory... before a frown adorned his features. Being the medic he was, it was very easy to spot the irregularities of chakra flow, especially that which occurred in his own body. Why was his chakra acting so..?

Genjutsu!

"Kai!" He shouted as he flared his chakra to dispel the illusion, looking back he saw the bodies of the teens were no longer there. 'Shit', they tricked him!

His instincts warned him, and his acute ears heard the wind being pierced by fast flying objects. He faced his front quickly and saw several kunai flying at him. He dodged half of them and parried the other half, knocking them away from the air.

"Shizune, now!" He heard Karin shout.

A blur appeared behind him, chakra blade primed. The medic woman took her chance and sliced the muscles of his right leg.

"Agh!" He grunted as he fell to one knee. "You little-!" He swung his own chakra blade at her, but Shizune moved out of the way.

"Naruto!" The medic called, and Kabuto looked back at the smoke cloud that previously had kept him busy with the clones.

The Jinchuuriki stood there, left arm bleeding... the same place where he had pierced one of those last three clones with a kunai.

That one hadn't been a clone!

Then Kabuto realized the other arm was forming a blue sphere of pure spiraling chakra.

"Ahhhhhh!" With a battle cry and a burst of speed, Naruto closed the distance.

The Oto-Nin desperately tried to move, but his leg failed to respond.

And Naruto slammed the Rasengan straight into his gut.

Kabuto roared in pain as he was sent like an arrow slamming hard into a large boulder back first. Coughing up blood the medic Nin fell forward onto the soft grass. The blond panted as he grunted pulling out the kunai from his body. "How's that-" Naruto's voice stopped.

Both Karin and Shizune looked wide eye as Kabuto, despite receiving a Rasengan full on, suddenly began to get back up his feet; "Your father's signature jutsu," the medic Nin winced as he slowly stood. His broken glasses fell down at his feet; "a truly terrifying technique, even lord Orochimaru is wary of it."

All three saw the horrid wound on his stomach healing itself till not even discoloration was visible; "You're not the only one with a trick or two," Kabuto grinned savagely as blood dripped from his lips.

"What. The. Fuck?" Naruto only gawked. "...How?!"

The grey haired young man chuckled; "Beat me and I might tell you. Or join us, the offer is still open."

"Think I can tell ya where to take that offer," Naruto sneered.

"Well, worth a shot," Kabuto shrugged.

Shizune looked over slightly to Naruto, whispering slowly. "Listen carefully… He can heal himself, but something like that still has negative side-effects. Most likely large chakra consumption whatever it is, we have to keep the pressure on. Whatever we do, don't let him get the upper hand…"

Tapping his sandals on the ground, Kabuto kept a straight face; "Try all you want, but all you're doing is tiring yourselves out. Though thankfully for you, you're more useful to use alive than dead" Despite his words, the medic mentally acknowledged that attack had taken a lot out of him _. 'I can't get hit by another one of those or I won't get back up again'_

Karin narrowed her eyes. "I know all too well what Orochimaru does to those he needs alive, and found out eventually what he did to those he could kill to get what he needed. That will not happen to me or my family, Kabuto. Not while I draw breath!"

Having learned how to strike fast, she was testing a new Genjutsu to augment herself in combat. As the young redhead started getting herself in position, Naruto instantly charged forward swiftly with his Kunai of crystal, chakra flowing through it to make it longer as he slashed at Kabuto, who swiftly stepped aside with little effort and struck forward with his Chakra Scalpel.

Rolling forward and flipping out of the way, the blonde slashed at the hand attempting to cut out his stomach. Missing, as Kabuto reared back and stepped aside, he noticed Shizune spraying more needles at the white haired freak of nature now.

The distraction of the other two gave Karin the time she needed to quickly activate her Genjutsu, and using all her speed sped around to flank the enemy, quickly getting behind him and kicking to his side. As he flipped backward to go over it, he was forced to cut down more needles as Shizune closed the gap with Naruto going around the other way.

Being surrounded as he landed, Kabuto smirked, but then looked to Karin. Keeping a brave face, he was confused on the inside about her. ' _I swear she had another limb there for a second… What trick is she using now? I don't sense a Genjutsu on me, but maybe I should-_ '

Before he had the chance to act on his instincts, Naruto suddenly flew through some hand-seals before slamming his Kunai into the ground. " _Kesshō Kisou Shuuha_!" An eruption of crystals suddenly sprouted and started coming at Kabuto like a line of blades digging through the ground, causing him to quickly retreat to the side, only for the line to turn and aim for him once more.

Seeing the Jutsu live up to its name, Kabuto quickly tried an alternate tactic and ran after Shizune. Quickly vaulting and flipping over her, he turned with a smirk as she tried to get to the side of whatever strike he was planning, only for him to follow suit and not let her out of his line of sight.

Naruto, however, saw what was happening; his Jutsu was closing in on Shizune because Kabuto was using her as a shield. Quickly he let it go and it stopped in its tracks. That gave Kabuto the much-needed focus to finally take down one of them. With a speedy step, he grabbed Shizune by the collar and slammed her down to the ground, quickly kicking her head to knock her cold just as Naruto came upon him.

Quickly getting out of the way, he was soon set upon by Karin once more, who threw five punches to various targets of his body. Her arms… they moved like a blur, an after-image that was indistinguishable from a real limb. This was an illusion, not one applied to a target, but on the general area of the user. He had no way to see which was the real limb, and didn't have the time to dispel the illusion. Two punches hit him, one in the knee and the other was the follow-up uppercut to his gut that land squarely, causing more pain due to the Rasengan he took earlier.

Recovering from the hits and coming back with his own strike, thrusting for her neck, he was stopped by Naruto grabbing his arm and them twisting him from behind, tossing him to the ground. Using his body's momentum and quickly severing some nerves to get out of the hold, Kabuto rolled away and jumped to get distance as Naruto held his arm, his nerves quickly healing themselves.

Not wasting a moment, Kabuto went after the blonde as Karin came for him, ducking under his arm as it tried to strike his neck, only for it to slam into his head as the higher arm he noticed was the fake, thus making him slide on the ground and recover with a rolling action out of the way.

It was getting tense, as Kabuto found himself between the two Uzumaki's, neither were giving him an inch. Naruto was on him once again before he could think of a way to take either of them down, with Karin not far behind, Naruto swept a strike at a leg, which rose to get out of the way and causing an unbalanced shift in the center of his gravity, allowing Karin to quickly get behind him fast enough to kick him in the back.

As he flew forward, Naruto grabbed his collar and threw him to the ground again, this time making him bounce a few times away.

Kabuto returned to his feet and coughed blood in his hands, but quickly dissolved it. "Not bad… But you're just giving me insight on how you fight, meaning sooner or later... I'll take you out!" Karin was a distraction, she was flanking him towards Naruto, at least that is what he thought, thus giving Naruto ample time to strike and get the distance needed to land another blow. He had to go head on against the headstrong blonde. "HIYAH!" However, Naruto suddenly formed a crystal in his hand and slammed it into the ground.

Kabuto knew he needed to get behind Naruto to avoid it, so he jumped behind the blonde, and thrust fast with a shot to the lung, only for something else to strike him. The crystal thrust into the ground, and without warning crystal blades sprouted all around the blonde, causing Kabuto's legs to get cut wide open and his chest to get shallowly cut, his arm stabbed into as well, as Naruto called it out. " _Kesshō Ittou Seki!_ "

Disengaging himself, Kabuto started running back to get distance, only for his wounds to force him to wobble and pause long enough for Karin to get in front of him and grab his arms. "Hah!" Flipping up, Karin's legs uppercut Kabuto into the air as she flipped backward.

Seeing his chance, Naruto quickly ran after him, drawing on the Kyuubi's power as he wanted to finish this off. "We're the Uzumaki family! We don't fall so easily asshole!" As Kabuto tried to curl up and try to tank whatever was coming his way, all he could see was Naruto charging a ball of orange and red chakra, which made his eyes widen.

With Kabuto vulnerable, Naruto went all out with his Rasengan, infused with the Kyuubi's power for an extra punch. " _Shui Rasengan_!" Thrusting forth, Naruto's attack grounded into Kabuto's arms, forcing them apart before slamming once more into Kabuto's chest and stomach, twisting his body once again into nothing but a crater of flesh before flying off, spiraling, into a rock and embedding himself there. Slowly peeling off the stone, the medic-nin fell onto the earth; he did not get up this time.

They did it… Both young teens panted heavily as their quarry lay motionless on the ground; "Finally decided to use those two new jutsu," Karin asked breathlessly.

"Glad to see they worked;" Naruto grinned to his cousin who smiled back as they high-five

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

Kushina allowed herself to rest her blade over her shoulder as she smirked at the sight. The fire and frost from the dragons struck from both sides at the Kaguya who had protected himself in cocoon entirely made out of bones. Jian's flames and Hui Zhong's cold worked in perfect tandem to weaken the bones.

"It's almost too easy"

The very second she said those words, the cocoon exploded outwards; only steam and dust remained, obscuring the Kaguya's form. Sharp shards of bones pierced the dragons' scales and into their flesh. They feel to the ground in pain as their wounds bled.

"Shit!" Kushina swore. "You guys okay?"

"We'll live..." Hui Zhong grunted as a scaly green hand removed a bone stake from his body.

"Not for long…"

As the steam settled down, their eyes widened in shock. Kimimaro's skin was a dark grey, and his eyes a baleful yellow. Six thick bones sprouted from his back, his spine was visible and he now possessed a large tail with bone protuberances. The chakra he radiated... it was sick, and so dense.

"What the hell..?" Kushina muttered in astonishment.

"This" The Kaguya took a step forward, "is Orochimaru-sama's gift to me"

"Your master has a fucked up definition of a gift" Kushina said with narrowed eyes. She shifted her gaze to the dragons. "You guys leave him to me, go treat your wounds"

"Kushina-sama" Jian tried to protest.

The Uzumaki matriarch shook her head. "You're in no condition to fight, and he's become even more dangerous. Go"

They hesitated for a moment before dutifully nodding. "As you wish" And vanished just like that had appeared, in bursts of smoke.

"...Was that truly wise?" Kimimaro spoke, still in an empty tone; "they may prove effective shields for you."

Kushina frowned at that; "Unlike your little snake cult we treat our summonings like family."

"As I have also heard. The Uzumaki are perhaps the strangest clan I have ever met. But enough, let me see the skills that earned you the title of Red Death." The Kaguya charged in almost demonic speeds, and the Uzu barely avoided least three strikes in one move.

 _'And he was already fast as hell!'_ Kushina deflected several swipes of Kimimaro's tail with her blade.

Blades sprouted from his palms, a flurry of slashes clashed with the Uzumaki's blade. He twirled around as dozens of bones erupted from underneath his skin, forcing Kushina to back way to avoid the deadly dance.

With a mighty cry, Kimimaro thrusted out his chest, causing to large bones to sprouted directly at Kushina. She quickly brought her up blade horizontally in front of her, a palm pressed against the edge near the tip, when the bones impacted the metal she was sent flying away with the sheer strength of his attack.

She bounced off the ground a few times before rolling and regaining her footing. She scoffed when she saw Kimimaro just stand there as most of his bones retracted, he looked at her with so little emotion it just pissed her off, made her feel he wasn't taking her seriously.

He was powerful, of that there was no doubt... and this guy was not even back on his prime according to Karin.

"This is the end" Without warning, he slammed his hand on the ground and this one trembled.

Before Kushina's widening eyes, rows and rows of countless sharp bones sprouted from the ground at tremendous speed. Quickly filling the terrain around her opponent to the point the only visible thing were bones. A garden of bones.

Kushina jumped away quickly, and stared horrified from the air that soon their entire area of the battleground was filled to the brim with bones, not a single speck of ground was visible, not a single place where she could safely land. The bones underneath her began extending further, twisting and joining, creating a spiral of bones that would pierce her the moment she began falling.

She was trapped, all he had to do was waiting for her to fall.

But Kushina wasn't going to give up now, it was true that his bones were incredibly hard, but they weren't indestructible. So she held her blade in her hands and activated layers upon layers of seals.

Kimimaro narrowed his eyes. "Huh?"

Wind gathered around her blade at such impossible speeds they completely covered it, the edge was no longer visible in itself, just a violent torrent of wind that tightly wrapped itself around the metal to the point it looked like the wind had taken the form of a sword.

Kushina held the blade over her head as she fell. "Haaaaah!" And with a mighty swing she sent down a gale of so strong it was like a miniature tornado tail. The wind was so powerful it tore the spiral of bones to little shards, and when it collided with the ground the bones on its path were reduced to dust, creating a hole in the bone garden where she safety landed.

Kushina raised her head and smirked. "Like it?" She waved her wind blade around. "Multiple air-element seals layered across the blade, highly condensed gales of wind that spin so rapidly they shred nearly anything on their path"

The Kaguya's gaze became ever so slightly infuriated.

"Chakra consumption on this technique is a bitch I'll admit" She pointed her weapon at him. "But it'll cut even through your strongest bones" She winked playfully at him. "What? You think I made it to ANBU captain just by being this sexy?" Kushina smirked before turning deadly serious; "Now it's my turn."

Kimimaro merely scoffed and dashed forward. Before Kushina's eyes his form phased unimpeded through the bone stakes, their matter harmlessly shifting through his body. It was sort of surreal to the Uzumaki.

She couldn't ponder much on it as with a thrust of his hand Kimimaro directed several stakes to bend and attack from all directions. The redhead held firm and sung her blade, the miniaturized gale of her blade tore through the bones with this, the area of contact with her sword were reduced to mere dust as the rest of the makeshift weapons were thrown away with the winds.

Kimimaro once more narrowed his eyes, the sheer pressure and wind chakra in that blade was simply extraordinary. It had to be to be able to reduce low level bone attacks to mere dust and splinters.

Yellow eyes widened when Kushina swung her blade at him, he quickly formed a shield to protect him. Focusing as much density with the calcium as he could. The torrent of wind collided with his shield like a drill, spilling over the edges of his makeshift protecting like a violent hurricane.

It stopped as soon as it came, and though Kimimaro could not see it, there was a large dent on his shields along with dozens of cuts created by her wind blade.

Kushina let out a quick pant as she felt a bead of sweat roll down her neck. She hadn't been kidding about the chakra consumption on this technique. Air element so highly concentrated with extreme cutting power like this required a ton of continuous use of chakra to use, but it was the only way to pierce his defenses and weapons.

The Kaguya's kekkei genkai was something else, and it once more alarmed Kushina that this guy wasn't at full power. She had to remind herself that she's been away for twelve years while everyone else kept training and advancing.

Regardless, she had to finish this quickly. She held her blade back in a stance, like a hornet ready to sting.

Kimimaro answered in kind, covering his right arm with thick curved bones until a great bone drill-like weapon, much larger than his arm and nearly as big as his entire body was formed. Maximum offensive power and durability was put into this technique.

" _Dance of the Clematis_ " The Kaguya intoned. " _Flower_!"

Kushina was about to shout out her own technique... only to remember her wind-blade didn't have one. Oh gods damn it! Years after making this thing and she still didn't have a cool name to use. Whatever...

They leapt, and the tip of her sword clashed against that of his own weapon. Sheer force from the collision made every bone stake around them to be torn apart and turbulent winds danced across their battlefield.

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

Breaking away from Jiraiya and now Tsunade, who annoyingly seemed to shaken off her fear of blood (because snapping out of a trauma was apparently that easy…), Orochimaru looked on impressed at the display of power from his servant and Kushina. "Your daughter is truly magnificent Tsunade."

The slug princess stood beside Jiraiya on Gamaken's head as she clenched her fists; "Don't even think of trying to snatch my daughter or my grandson for your sick experiments. I'll kill you myself if you dare touch them."

Orochimaru only chuckled maliciously; "You're welcome to try old friend, but your idle threats won't stop me. I had originally written off your grandson in the beginning, and then he awakened that marvelous and highly rare Shoton. Since that remarkable day, Naruto-kun has begun to show both skill and talent that may rival or surpass Minato and Kushina all together. He also being Jinchurriki is simply a sweet bonus. I must have that power, or kill him if he proves too much of a threat."

The toad sage growled; "Like we'll ever let that happen."

"Hmm" The Snake Sannin weighted his options. On one hand he had what he wanted; Kimimaro was free from the disease, now he just had to regain his edge to once more be a useful soldier to him. Kabuto was down from the count, and he'd rather not have Kimimaro continue fighting Kushina. He could take his subordinates and leave right now without losing anything.

On the other hand, Tsunade was willing to return to Konoha. That much was obvious. He couldn't let that village get a medic of her genius in their hands once more, they'd become an even greater annoyance for his operations.

The answer was clear, he would kill Tsunade. Or Jiraiya failing to do that. He'd rob Konoha of a powerful asset one way or another.

Two more giant snakes bursted from the ground and attacked Gamaken, the great toad held one of them back with his shield while swatting the other one with his sasumata. But as Orochimaru's black mamba joined the fray again the great toad found himself slowly being overwhelmed.

Tsunade jumped high in to the air and bit into her finger, the sight of blood no longer unnerved her. And slammed her hand in the air, calling forth a summoning array. "Kuchiyose!"

From a great cloud of smoke, a giant white and purple slug fell from the sky, and fell right on top of the three snakes. Orochimaru's eyes widened before the great slimy creature crushed him and his pets.

 **"Oh dear"** The great slug said in a surprised tone. **"This was rather sudden"**

The medic landed atop her body and sighed. "Sorry about the abruptness of it all, Katsuyu"

 **"Oh, Tsunade-sama!"** The great slug was shocked to seeing its master again. **"It's been so long!"**

Jiraiya chuckled at the sight; he could say the same about Katsuyu. It's been many years since he saw... Her, him, it? He didn't know. The hermaphroditic nature of the slugs made Kaguya neither female nor male, but the tone of its voice always felt more feminine to him so the Sage was used to referring to the giant slug as a 'she'. And Katsuyu was impartial to it one way or another.

They didn't have much time to celebrate this reunion as the snakes beneath Katsuyu suddenly... split apart. Their massive bodies became an innumerable amount of smaller snakes that climbed up the slug's body.

 **"Oh no!"** Katsuyu tried to shake them away, as well as spitting acid but she only got those that climbed up the front of its body.

"Crap!" Jiraiya turned his hair into deadly weapon, solidifying each strand into a deadly needle as it grew in length and struck down the snakes climbing up Gamaken like a whip.

Tsunade didn't fear as well against the snakes, they swarmed her from all sides, biting every visible part of her skin. Their venom was nothing to someone who had such a powerful tolerance as her. She swatted them away with punches so strong they broke their bodies, and when one latched onto her she'd just grab them and squeeze, breaking their necks.

But there was just so many of them.

Suddenly one of the snakes, one of that could have been lost amidst the sea of its kin, lunged at her, it grew in size exponentially. It opened its maw to reveal not a forked tongue, but a blade coming from inside its throat.

Tsunade couldn't react in time. Blood escaped her lips as the blades pierced her sternum and went right through her back. The snake slowly slithered away, revealing a pale arm that grasped the blade's handle. Covered in bile and saliva, a victoriously grinning Orochimaru emerged from the snake's body.

"Thank you for healing my asset, but your usefulness has ended. And I won't allow Konoha to have both you and Jiraiya into their fold. My plans will not be hindered." The snake Sannin laughed as he leaped back avoiding Jiraiya's now more vicious onslaught.

 _'Damn it,'_ Tsunade growled; _'I let myself get this damn rusty._ ' But she was not about to give up. She'd be damned if let that smug bastard have the last laugh; _'This may shorten my lifespan. But I will not leave my daughter and grandson behind again!'_ Ripping off several snakes from her body with her bare her hands, Jiraiya's eyes widened, realizing what she what she was doing the moment she brought her hands into a seal.

" _Sōzō Saisei!_ "

Tsunade's body glowed with mystical energy. The seal in her forehead disappeared and in its place black markings appeared over her face. Before the other two Sannin's eyes her wounds began to emit smoke as if they were being cauterized.

The cells in every part of her body were forced to create more proteins at an accelerated rate. Tissue and cell regenerating exponentially, splitting at amazing speeds not possible for a normal human.

Tsunade's wounds closed in but a second.

"So this is it..." Orochimaru muttered, his voice holding a hint of deep admiration at the sheer beauty of that technique. "'Creation Rebirth'. Even though I'm certain I pierced your heart you forced your body to regenerate so fast it made no difference..."

A technique that guaranteed 'immortality' as long as the user had chakra.

But there was a great drawback to this powerful healing ability. A human's cells could only split a limited amount of times in a lifetime; the use of this technique could save someone from certain death at the cost of shortening their lifespan.

Reinvigorated with sudden energy, her muscles contracted into action. Then she moved.

In the blink of an eye she had cleared the distance between Orochimaru and herself. The snake Sannin's wide eyes could only stare into Tsunade's determined glare.

She drove her fist into his chest; bones caved in and snapped, rupturing the internal organs.

He was sent flying through air from Katsuyu's back and impacted upon the ground with such force the earth underneath him cracked and rose.

When the dust settled, Orochimaru's broken form laid limp on the crater. The caved section of his torso was a disgusting sight.

"Damn, hime..." Jiraiya muttered.

The Slug Princess sighed as the marks on her face disappeared. "It's over"

Suddenly, Orochimaru's body twitched, much to their horror. His mouth opened to an unnatural degree. A pale hand slipped through it, followed by another. They opened the jaw wider still Orochimaru, now fully healed, emerged like a snake shedding his skin.

"...Oh that's just gross"

Orochimaru was neither smiling nor frowning as he looked up at his former teammates; _'I won't be able to withstand a second one of those if she hits me again. We have overstayed our welcome, Kimimaro is healed. I shall simply deal with my old friends and that village later._ '

"Kimimaro," The Kaguya turned sharply from his stare-down with Kushina upon hearing his master; "Retrieve Kabuto, we are leaving."

"Yes my lord," Kushina gasped as her opponent outright varnished with nothing but pure speed. Appearing next to the unconscious medic Nin and picked him up over his shoulder.

Tsunade growled as she leapt off her summoning; "Like hell you're getting away!"

The snake sannin only chuckled as he vanished via shunshin; the great mass of snakes slithered away, disappearing from sight and Kimimaro too was soon long gone. Karin was tending to Shizune, who was finally waking up, while Naruto only seethed; "He got away."

Again…

"We'll get him one day," Kushina stated as she sheathed her sword; "let's get back to the hotel and rest up."

The legendary medic let out a long tired sigh. "I healed his lackey and now he'll be back at full strength" She sounded so disappointed and angry with herself. "I gave him back a powerful asset"

"Might be so" Jiraiya replied as he crossed his arms. "But Konoha would get one back with you" He paused as he looked at her hopefully. "If you're willing"

The blonde woman looked at her daughter, who carefully made sure not to show any emotion. So far she was doing a poor job because Tsunade could see the apprehension in her eyes. Naruto looked so hopeful, and she nearly caved in at the sight of those bright blue eyes of his.

Sharing a look with her apprentice, Shizune merely smiled sheepishly as held Tonton in her arms.

Placing her arms akimbo, Tsunade sighed once more. She slowly nodded before softly smiling. "Yeah... Yeah, let's go home"

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

None had a problem falling into their respective beds as they went back to the hotel. Both Tsunade and Shizune had patched anyone up that needed some medical help. While normally Naruto would have groaned about it, he was actually silent, comfortable with just smiling at his grandmother who tended to him and Karin.

When she got up close and had a good long look at him, she found those whisker marks on his cheeks to be downright adorable!

All the while doing this she could feel her daughter's gaze on her the entire time. They both waited till everyone fell asleep as they took to the roofs. Tsunade sighed as she leaned against the water tower, her almond orbs watching every detail of her daughter.

She couldn't hide the tremble in her shoulders and hands. This was a longtime coming, better to let it all out here and now. She did not say a word, merely waited for Kushina to be ready to speak.

The redhead called up a barrier seal around them; Tsunade immediately recognized the matrix as a silence seal, meant to keep any sound from inside the barrier to be heard. Ah, so there was going to be yelling involved. Though it didn't surprise her knowing it was Kushina.

The Uzumaki's mouth opened and closed, shaking her head, trying to find the words. She had so many things to say at the same time.

She settled for the first ones that came to her head. "Why weren't you there?!"

Tsunade just stood there, letting her adopted daughter unwind.

"D-Do you have any idea what it was?! How horrible it all was?!" Kushina paced around, her hands roughly going through her red locks. "Twelve years! I missed twelve years and when I come back everything is wrong!"

… This wasn't just about Naruto, no. Whatever problems they had it involved Tsunade and him, but the boy, bless his forgiving heart, was so very willing to get it all behind him if it meant having his grandmother back with their family. She had failed her duty to be there for Naruto, and he had paid for it, so she swore to never again let him down.

But Naruto wasn't the only person she had failed.

"I had to watch as some masked bastard kill Hiruzen's wife, then threaten my newborn baby with a kunai all because he wanted that fucking fox! Minato convinces me to use Tsukiko's scroll. Then I wake up to find out not only is my husband is dead, but my best friend who I loved as much Minato also was killed by her own goddamn son! All because that piece of shit Fugaku and the others wanted to take over the village because they felt neglected by it!"

Kushina kept pacing; "When coming out of that scroll I find my baby nearly all grown up. But then I learn he spent his life alone being the village's pariah. I never got to watch him grow, read him bedtime stories, hold him for his birthday. I MISSED OUT ON EVERYTHING!" she punched through the cement in the wall; "ALL THE MOMENTS A PARENT IS SUPPOSED TO SHARE WITH THEIR CHILD!"

"So right now all I can do is spend time with him and train because I have no idea what I am supposed to do as a parent! Acting like a fool and keeping a smile on my face so he won't see how freaked out I am about everything!" She let out a humorless laugh. "And where was my mother through all this? Gambling and drinking away her sorrows in self-pity" Kushina laughed again, it was a not a healthy laugh.

The laugh soon became chuckles, and the chuckles strangled sobs. "Why weren't you there?!" She demanded. Bitter tears running down her cheeks. "Why weren't you there when he needed you?! ...Why weren't you there when I needed you?"

Why indeed?

"WHY?!" Kushina roared right in her mother's face. She froze soon feeling arms wrapped around her and pressed gently against Tsunade. Her mother held her lovingly, no words could say anything that could sooth her daughter's pain. So she held her child to convey every feeling that went unsaid.

For a long moment Kushina remained still till what felt like a dam breaking. Her tears started again but in fervor as she soon hugged her mother back. Her sobs became almost mourning wails as Tsunade sat them both down. A stream of her own tears fell as she felt her daughter shaking as she let out the pain.

So much time had been lost between them, no more... No more...

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

 _There she was. The girl was a sad little thing, all by herself on the swings, looking like she was lost and all alone in the world._

 _And she was; gods knew she was..._

 _Tsunade bit a curse that threatened to escape her lips. She remembered the news bitterly still. Uzushio... gods fucking damn it..._

 _Mito-baachan told her the girl would be under their care, and the medic could not refuse. To have lost it all at such a young age._

 _The blonde woman walked towards the girl, violet eyes looked up at her with uncertainty. "Hey" Tsunade smiled softly as she squatted. "We met before; I'm Mito's granddaughter Tsunade. You're Kushina right?"_

 _The little girl did not reply, she just kept staring._

 _"Aren't you bored here by yourself?"_

 _Kushina merely shook her head._

 _The medic held no illusions, having the poor kid try to reach out to other people would a monumental task. But she didn't get to where she was now by rejecting tough missions._

 _"You hungry?" She asked, and Kushina pondered for a moment before nodding. "Wanna get some ice-cream?"_

 _The little girl bit her lip. "...ram..." She muttered._

 _"Huh?" Tsunade turned her ear to hear well._

 _"Ramen... I want ramen" She spoke oh so shyly._

 _The medic merely chuckled. "Ramen it is" And held up her hand for her to hold unto._

 _The girl jumped down from the swing, looking even smaller now, staring at the offered hand. Hesitantly she reached over and grasped a few fingers; Tsunade gently squeezed her hand in a comforting gesture. It was warm._

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX ~ xx ~ XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

 _ **Arch: The Godaime arc is officially over! I want to thank Godospartan the kitsune for doing some assist in the Kabuto fight scene. On a side note I'd like to give a shout out to a YouTube channel called 'Overly Sarcastic Productions'. These guys are excellent, especially their talks about tropes. I recommend very highly on watching them.**_

 _ **New Jutsu:**_

 _ **(My thanks to Godo for coming up with these)**_

 _ **Kesshō Ittou Seki (Crystal blade Barrier)**_

 _ **Kesshō Kisou Shuuha (Crystal Homing Wave)**_


	38. Our path

**Disclaimer:** We do not own Naruto

 **Co-author and Beta** : Etheral-23

 **Chapter 38: Our path**

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX ~ xx ~ XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

 _Her wrists were sore, the manacles around them had bruised the skin to the point every small movement set a burning sensation. Her stomach hurt, like small knives plunging into her belly. The clothes clang to her filth covered body, it had been a long time since she last bathed, the water given to her was just enough to hydrate herself, yet that didn't make her lips any less dry._

 _There was no light in this dark place, save for the lamps used to illuminate, she could not gauge how much time had passed. The pain inflicted on her made it feel like an eternity._

 _Her dead gaze wandered to the corner, their bodies were not there anymore, and they had been disposed, like garbage. Their tortures had gone too far, wanting to extract what they could not give her._

 _No tears fell from her blue eyes; they had long since dried up. The wound in her heart, the piece ripped from it the moment they had been taken from her, felt dull._

 _In the physical pain they inflicted on her every day, and the even greater agony that her soul was in, they had broken her. She had nothing to give them, neither the knowledge they craved, or the satisfaction to see her in more pain._

 _But that did not stop them. Kya dully looked as another one approached the tip of the kunai burning red with heat._

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

Kya woke up with a start. Gasping for breath, her entire body drenched in cold sweat.

She shivered, hands tensing and flexing in their own accord as buried her face in them. Her heart beat for a mile a second, thundering against her rib cage, as she fought to regain control of her breathing.

A long shudder escaped her lips as the sweat dripped off her face. Lowering her hands a single stray tear escaped one of her eyes. She swallowed hard; _'Least I didn't wake up screaming.'_ This had happened before and led to a very awkward moment or two when she had first joined up with Lyn. Absently her blue eyes peered towards her lover in question remained thankfully asleep.

Kya sighed as she rose from bed, dressed in a simple sweats and shirt, the Namikaze woman wasn't to get anymore sleep tonight. She quietly left the bedroom of their apartment. The buxom blonde sighed as she made her way towards the bathroom and turned on the faucet. She shivered as she splashed some water on her face.

Her heart still raced as she gazed at herself in the mirror.

Her eyes absently went over her arms, every visible patch of skin in her body, trying to spot any sign of scars or old wounds. She found none. But that's how she preferred it, that her scars never showed.

Kya took a deep breath, the beating of her heart slowing down, no longer drumming in her ears.

That nightmare- that memory, again...

Gods, it always came at the worst of times.

She had been at ease in this village, ever since she and Lyn arrived. Barring the terrible incident that was the Sound-Sand invasion, there was a strong spiritual presence in this place, filled with many places where nature energy was strong and prominent; to the point she thought that perhaps this would be a place where she could finally achieve senjutsu.

Kya had been here for over a month, and still nothing.

The thought of not living up to her clan's legacy made her feel things the Buddha would disapprove of.

Perhaps that nightmare was a reminder that she had been slacking off in her efforts. Her guard dangerously lowering, letting herself be swayed by many distractions. Pointless fights, quests and adventures that would take her focus from her training, everything she did with Lyn-

The mocha skinned woman closer her eyes, taking in a deep breath. She needed to confirm her doubts once and for all.

She silently gathered her robe, slipping her arm through the single sleeve and took off. Her destination; the woods atop the Hokage Monument plateau.

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

Kya felt like she could finally breath as she stood in middle of a small clearing on the plateau's woods. It would be at least another hour or two before the light of the sun rose for morning, but she paid it no mind as she closed her eyes to feel the breeze of the wind envelope her. It gently jostled her hair and robes, calming her and heart, if only just.

Slowly the blond sat down in a lotus meditative position with steadying, calming breathes. Her nightmare, her past, all stray thoughts had begun to fade from her mind. No distractions, no chaos, only serenity and peace.

Kya let her consciousness grown still as she felt nature's energy flow around her. Like before, and the time before that, and many other attempts she opened herself to nature. To let it flow within her and become one with it. To achieve the state and path her Namikaze kin had followed in ages past.

Her hands clinched, she could feel the energy just a hair's breathe towards. She bit her lip as she let her mind reach out for it. Moisture edged at her closed eyes; ' _Please..._ '

But like every other attempt, nature's energy was just out of reach from her. Kya's body shook with frustration, yet this time she did not keep silent; "What am I doing wrong?" Her voice rasped out as she opened her eyes with anger and pain within them. "Why won't you accept me?" She whispered in a broken tone as she stared at her feet.

Why?

Why wouldn't nature's chakra become part of her? She was doing everything right, Kya knew she was.

Perhaps... perhaps she was the problem. Her methods, while flawless on paper, were lacking a critical component.

Her spirit, her soul, eager sought to receive the blessings of nature, to tap into the spiritual and reach enlightenment. It was a paradox to be sure, but not one without merit, reach the spiritual realm through the natural one.

But to reach such things, the soul had to be willing to part with the physical.

Her eyes widened, struck by a sudden epiphany. "So that's it..."

She finally understood what was it that it was holding her back, why she couldn't progress. She knew what she had to do now.

She wanted, no, she NEEDED to honor her clan's legacy. It was time to finally let go of all ties, knowing it'd be for the best.

Kya tried to ignore how much pain it brought to her chest.

* * *

 **XxX ~ some time later ~ XxX**

* * *

They couldn't be more than an hour away from Konoha, the scenery of the large dense forest became a very much welcomed and familiar sight. The Slug Sannin allowed herself a moment to breathe in deeply, smelling all the scents the forests had to offer. It brought so many memories, both dear and painful. But there was not denying the sense of nostalgia this brought her.

She was going home, after so many years she was finally coming back. This time with her family.

Heh, family. The word felt good to hear, just thinking about it eased her burdens. She had a lot to make up for, but she could already imagine the kind of life she'd share with them, all the moments, be they good or bad, they'd face together. That was what family was about. They could argue and get mad with each other, but ultimately they would stand by one another and share in their concerns as much as their joys.

...Although the current situation wasn't much of a good example, given how Kushina was doing her outmost to ignore her son's questions regarding a certain 'incident' during their battle with the snake.

"Mom," Naruto droned beside Karin as they walked beside the older redhead and Shizune. "About what happened with Aunt Mikoto-"

"Wasn't it nice seeing her again?!" Kushina beamed before scowling; "Well, not the way I'd prefer, rather she still be alive. But it was nice!"

Shizune deadpanned along with the kids and Tonton making a dismissive noise beside the medic's legs. _'And I thought teacher was horrible at avoiding things.'_ Kushina was just as bad as her mother.

In front of the four plus pig, Tsunade shook her head while she rubbed the bridge of the nose. Jiraiya only rolled his eyes with groan as they were overhearing the entire conversation. "AH!" Kushina outright screamed causing the others to jump; "I forgot to tell Mi-chan Sasuke signed the Tiger summoning contract!" Everyone face-faulted as the redhead slumped forward; "Mi-chan would have loved to have heard her and her father's legacy was living on with her youngest son..."

"Oh for crying out loud." Tsunade having enough as she and the other got back up. "Will you just tell Naruto already!?"

"Tell him what?"

The Senju facepalmed; _'Gods she just had to have gotten that from me.'_ "That you and Mikoto had feelings for each other."

"What the-WHAT?!" Naruto's reaction was picture perfect, to the point Jiraiya was regretting not having a camera on him.

Kushina, her face soon matching her hair, and gave her adoptive mother the meanest glare she could muster. But having raised the little brat for a good chunk of her life, enduring all the tantrums she had launched discriminately, the sannin was unaffected by it.

"Do you have to be so blunt?!"

"Well given you're being a chicken about it, I figured someone here needs to be honest with the kid"

Karin, looking completely lost as much as she was surprised, shared a look with Shizune who mirrored her current mood perfectly.

"C-C-Can we back up a little please?!" The whiskered blonde squeaked, and boy his bewildered tone made it sound like puberty was just 'destroying' his voice. "You and aunt Mikoto?! B-B-But what about dad?!"

Kushina, trying to look at anywhere but his son, awkwardly scratched the back of her head. "You ever seen those television shows where a character is caught in a love triangle, you know, had feelings for two different people? W-Well, that was my situation really. I've known both since childhood, they were my closest friends, and we went through so much together and... Gods it was such a mess" She groaned into her hands, letting out her frustrations with a muffled sound. "Can you imagine what it is? Having to pick between two people who care for you at the same time?"

Naruto said nothing, what could he say really?

"I loved your father, deeply. But I also loved Mikoto just as much. But then the Uchiha had her arranged marriage to Fugaku, Itachi and Sasuke's father." Kushina reigned in her temper as best she could just mention that bastard's name. "Then I married your father, I was happy, I moved on… but I think Mikoto never did" She muttered the last part sadly.

"That is a lot to take in." Karin murmured beside Shizune who numbly nodded back.

As for Naruto he looked to his mother and then to his grandmother who shrugged; "I just knew they never really hide their feelings well on the matter. I just hope you find one girl. Or guy if you're into that."

"I am not into guys." The young blond looked visibly ill as he shook his head. "Uncle Samenosuke yes, not me."

Tsunade shrugged again; "Long as you're happy and I get great-grand kids down the road I'll be happy."

"MOM/GRANDMA!" Kushina and Naruto chorused with an amused Slug princess giggling at them.

Jiraiya only snorted as they finally neared the gates; ' _Least there is some levity before things gets serious again._ '

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

And serious it was as they passed through the gates into the village. Kotetsu and Izumo gawked at the sight of the Tsunade Senju striding into the village after her years of absence. Their shock was shared among the villagers and shinobi who saw the last Senju walking through the village with Company in tow.

The buxom older blond ignore the gawking as she made her way straight for the hospital. Thought her eyes did not miss the repairs going on around the village. _'Orochimaru really did a number on this place.'_ she mentally mused but stayed focused on task.

They wasted no time in getting to the hospital; she had a mission to complete after all. The ANBU merely stood firm in salute as they stepped through the halls and headed towards Hiruzen's room. Security was extremely heavy on this area, no surprise, seeing the vulnerable figure of their leader was resting inside.

She could see Naruto being a few steps ahead of her, looking extremely concerned. Right, the old man had gotten quite close to him from what she had heard, the boy came to see sensei as part of his family.

He was Tsunade's family as well, that stubborn old man was far more patient with her than she ever deserved. She had nothing but good memories of him, of all the times he guided her when she needed someone to be there for her, to be a source of wisdom much like Mito-baachan was.

They entered his room, and the Senju stopped for a moment, gathering herself as she took in the sight of her mentor. Gods he looked older than the last time she's seen him. Just lying in bed with that white sheet covering him, the machines at his sides constantly monitoring his vitals.

Sarutobi-sensei had always been a beacon of fortitude and resolution, to see him in this state it was... wrong. Just plain wrong.

She vowed to make it right, now.

Nobody said a word as she approached him; they let the legendary medic room to work.

Breaking a patient out of a coma induced genjutsu was not a simple task. The illusion had been broken as she was informed, but the issue here was to jolt the brain into conscious activity once more. A perfect balance was required, push it too little and the patient would remain slumbering, push it too hard and one risked causing damage to the brain tissue.

She placed her hands on his head, her chakra sense reaching through skin and into the precious matter of his brain. Delicately, yet decisively, she reached the areas were conscious activities were performed, namely the parts required to be awake. Her chakra gave a precise jolt to those areas, an impulse to make the brain operate properly once again.

His wrinkled lips parted, letting out a soft gasp, as his eyes slowly opened and adjusted to the sights before him. "Tsu...nade?"

She smiled gently, "Hi old man"

Naruto was next to his side in an instant, "Jiji!" His eyes were wet with relief and elation.

His gaze shifted to the boy, "I... what happened?"

"Take it easy" Tsunade advised him, old instincts as a doctor surging forth after all these years. "You've been in a coma for some days now" Kushina and Jiraiya walked up to them, "They told me it was due to a genjutsu that-"

Hiruzen suddenly sat upright on his bed, seemingly wide awake, the heart monitor at his side beeping loudly, indicating the accelerated rate of his heartbeat. His chakra acted wildly, leaking killing intent in large, furious amounts.

Kushina swore to herself, catching Naruto as this one was flung back by the sudden outburst of the Hokage. Karin had remained outside the room with Shizune and Tonton. And not just those three, but every person within the hospital felt overwhelming pressure and rage flood the building

"Sensei?" Jiraiya carefully spoke.

The rage in his eyes was evident to anyone, and no doubt the ANBU outside were feeling it too due to his killing intent.

"Danzo..." The Hokage seethed the name with as much hate as the man could possibly convey. The word tasted like ashes, leaving only a bile sensation in his mouth. His chest rose and fell with each agitated breath, the memories of what happened to him, the realization what that war hawk had done for so many years, had achieved what _very few_ individuals ever could.

He had sent the God of Shinobi on a warpath.

"I want this standing order to be followed by every last shinobi of our ranks" His command left no room for argument. "Find Danzo... and bring me his **head** "

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

It had taken a few minutes, but the Hokage had finally calmed down. Well, as calm as he could be given the situation.

Kushina wisely took her visibly shook son out of the room. His eyes as wide as they could be with his skin a ghostly white. Pure terror shone in his cerulean orbs as his mother held him going towards Karin, Shizune, and Tonton.

The older redhead only glanced back behind her towards her mother who motioned for them to leave. Jiraiya stayed with his old partner and sensei in the room. Along with one lone very brave doctor beside the Senju. He could practically hear man's knees clanking together.

 _'Not that I blame the poor bastard.'_ It had been decades since either he or Tsunade had seen their sensei this incensed. Well, he might as ask the question the needs asking. "When did Danzo put you under that Genjutsu?"

Hiruzen clinched his fists tightly while he stared at them, Tsunade glare over to her old teammate. "It was at least hours after the funeral of the entire Uchiha clan. After that everything is a hazy mess for me." He growled out with an enraged huff.

"Do you recall what he made you do with Shisui's eye?" Tsunade now questioned as she leaned in.

"The genjutsu's... command" He spat out the word, "forced me to overlook any and all transgression done by him. To always consider him an asset to the village worth keeping"

The two sannin exchanged a very disturbed look, "Well, that... certainly explains a lot now"

It made a horrible amount of sense. Why their teacher would defend the old war hawk whenever he stepped out of line, why he would always keep him around regardless of how many times he went behind the Hokage and the council's back. The many illicit activities he had organized, the numerous off file operations he had done without the Hokage's approval or knowledge.

The various acts of outright treason that Hiruzen had overlooked, or simply punished him with a slap on the wrist.

"He even tried to assassinate me once"

Tsunade and Jiraiya fell silent.

"And that accursed genjutsu" His hands grasped the bed sheets tightly. "Just made me give him a warning. For years he has worked to overthrow me, to do anything he could to further his own goals while claiming it was to 'protect the village'. But that man has always ever cared about one thing; Himself"

The Sandaime grumbled as he leaned back against his pillow; "Which begs the question of what he has been doing while I was his little puppet." Hiruzen sneered before taking a calming breath; "I want Commander Fox and the ANBU to search every nook and cranny throughout the village. Leave nothing to chance, inspect every building, park, training areas, the Shrines, and Kikyō Castle. I want every single place he has used found, inspected, and destroyed once finished."

"The last part is a bit much don't you think Sensei?" Jiraiya questioned with a cocked brow; "If nothing else we could use-" He went quiet upon receiving Hiruzen's glare. An expression he remembered well when he actually knew he was in real trouble.

"Konoha has endured the stain of Danzo's machinations long enough. Any and every legacy of what that man has created will be burned to ashes till the man himself is buried in the ground!" The elderly man roared out.

"We have already questioned the Shimura clan" Jiraiya added, "They know nothing about his current whereabouts and I'm inclined to believe them. Danzo had grown apart from the rest of his family for a long time. Hell, not even his son seemed surprised when we told him what he did. They're clearly not hiding anything from him"

Tsunade crossed her arms under her bust; "We can let Fox and the ANBU deal with that. Your health takes priority sensei." Hiruzen grumbled but did not retort; "After that there is the matter of succession with me taking over."

"That we can get out of the way now." The Sandaime turned his gaze towards the door; "Iguru!" One of the ANBU guards quickly walked in and knelt down with a bow; "Get my hat for me."

"Hai!" Without questioning the ANBU vanished via shunshin.

Both Sannin and lone doctor gave a questioning look before Iguru returned with the Hokage hat and gave it to Hiruzen. The elderly kage soon motioned for the Senju to come closer. Slowly obeying Tsunade came to her sensei side to have him to plant the hat on her head as she leaned in.

"You're the Godaime Hokage now. Good luck."

Neither of the two sannin had any time to react to the absolute lack of decorum and official procedures that would usually follow the naming of a new Hokage. There were protocols in places for this, ceremonies, meeting with the council and clan heads. Steps to go through that on any other occasion Hiruzen would have followed.

But the now former Kage was in no mood for that pointless dribble. The Hokage's word was law in Konoha, and so he gave his final order without any intention of ever reclaiming the hat.

"Okay..." Tsunade awkwardly adjusted the large conical hat so it wouldn't obstruct her view too much. "I'm... honored I guess?" Honestly, she had already been planning her acceptance speech in her head, how a Hokage's will was to nurture and protect their village, to show her people she would do her utmost to do right by them this time.

Throw that out the window...

"You'll do fine" Sarutobi waved it off, "At least; you'll be able to bear the weight of that damn thing better than I ever did"

"Hmph" The newly minted Hokage crossed her arms under her bust. "Well, I suppose my first order of business would be to organize a manhunt for Danzo, adding his name to the Bingo book is a no brainer. Did he leave behind any clues we could follow?"

"Afraid not" Jiraiya grunted, "Only thing we found was this; Children"

Tsunade blinked in surprise. "Children?"

"Orphans. They match the files of kids from all over the nation's orphanages. Apparently the damn war hawk was grooming them to be his mindless puppets" Tsunade let out a sound of disgust at that, "Yeah, my reaction was the same. A lot of those kids..." He sighed, "The damage is bad, but not unsalvageable, we already got professionals giving them the aid they require, mostly Yamanaka psychiatrists and the like"

"I want the ANBU to continue their search for anything we can find" Tsunade said, her voice becoming commanding. "I want to find out as many as his dirty secrets as I can"

Hiruzen snorted, "Oh we have plenty of dirty secrets ourselves. Trust me; there are some things we need to tell you privately"

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

A long sigh came from the now official Godaime Hokage as she had left the hospital. Upon knowing nothing else would be needed for her sensei's retired (again) Hokage, she decided to make her way to the Hokage tower to take a quick look over things. To her surprise; Naruto was standing outside the hospital with that Karin girl.

They came up to her fast with her grandson asking how 'Jiji' was. She could tell both were still much shaken from the level of killer intent and anger that had come off Sarutobi-sensei upon waking up. Likely why they did not go back inside the hospital just yet. Well, seeing that Shizune and Kushina were gone she brought the two kids along with her to walk to the tower.

"Where are Kushina and Shizune?" The buxom blond questioned peering down to her grandson.

It was Karin who answer the quickest; "Aunt Kushina said she and Shizune-san would head to the Senju mansion to clean it up."

Tsunade winced; _'Dear gods I'd hate to see how that place looks...'_ She shook her head; "Naruto." The young blond looked up; "The mansion is as much as your home as where you live with Kushina. You're welcome there anytime."

"Thanks" He smiled oh so brightly, in a way that painfully reminded her of her brother. "I bet it looks awesome, but I'm not really a fan of those traditional houses"

"Well, neither is your mom" Tsunade remarked, "Always said she found modern houses more comfortable to live in. Heh, more than once that girl tried to remodel the ancestral home that had been passed down to me"

"I imagine most of the time it was behind your back" Karin dryly guessed.

"Usually with her room. She would whine and throw all manner of tantrums whenever she didn't get her way. Something she never grew out of I'm afraid"

"Yeah, we learnt" Naruto replied, "It's really something to find out that your own mom is more immature than you are" And he is considered quite immature with his love of pranks, which was saying something...

"You got her attitude kid, but be thankful you got some of your dad's calmness to balance it out"

"Calm?" Karin snorted, "Him?"

"Ha-ha." Naruto dryly retorted with a glare.

"Coming from someone who is part Uzumaki and lived with some, yes." Well, least from what she had seen from days coming back home, he was nothing like Kushina as a kid. So was it wrong to hope that some of Minato is a part of her grandson's character? Speaking of character, her gaze turned back to Naruto; "I missed out on quite a bit your life. I know can't say anything to make for that, but I should have been here for you."

To her surprised the blond gently waved it off; "You're here now. That's what counts." Naruto addressed with a sad grin.

"Well, I for one would like to get to know my grandson. So tell me everything. I'd like to get to know about you as well Karin. We're all family after all." Tsunade smiled with maternal warmth.

So as the trio strolled through the village the new Godaime got to learn quite a bit about her grandson and Karin. The pangs of guilt stung harsh as she heard of Naruto's overall treatment from the village. But she shook away the regret since nothing could be done with the past. But she was proud of how far he has come and happy he has gained many friends. Tsunade had to bit back a hiss on how after Karin's mother died Orochimaru manipulated the young girl into joining him.

Her fists shook upon hear the experiments done to the girl by her former friend and comrade. But she also took notice of Karin's aptitude leaned towards science and medicine. Something to go over later when she had time.

"I have to agree with Kushina, I've never heard of anyone with Shoton in the Uzumaki clan." Tsunade stated with a tap to her chin. Had there been another case of Shoton years ago? Well, she'd look into that later. "And you can heal people by letting them bite you?" the older woman raised a brow at Karin who nodded.

"I think my mom could do it too but can't really remember."

"Hmm, you mind if I test that some time?" The young girl gave nod; "Thank you."

"Well, not like I can say no to the Hokage." Karin murmured.

"True," Tsunade mused; "But I'm asking this as a doctor, not village leader." A thought occurred to the Godaime; she regarded the girl with a raised brow. "Say, you're still probation now aren't you?"

"Yes" Karin nodded in confirmation.

"Well, not anymore. From here on out you're now a proud member of this village. Congratulations, it's a big honor, yadda, yadda, yadda" She waved off the rest with a motion of her hand.

Both young shinobi did a hilarious double take, stopping right on their tracks momentarily as Tsunade kept walking. "Wait, for real?!" Naruto asked excitedly, picking up the pace to catch up to his grandmother.

"C-Can you do that?" Karin, amidst the elation she felt, choose to remain logical about the situation. "Aren't there procedures for stuff like this and-?"

"I'm Hokage now; I can do what I want. Besides I think you earned your place here by helping locate said Hokage, wouldn't you say?"

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

The Hokage tower... It had been a long time for Tsunade as she took in the sight of the massive structure. Going up the stairs with Naruto and Karin in tow, the Senju's mind wondered to the past. She could vividly recall both Dan and Nawaki's smiling faces as they declared dreams to becoming Hokage.

 _'In the end I am taking the position you two wanted. Not sure if I'll ever be as good as I knew you both would have been. But I'll be Hokage for both of you.'_ Her eyes peered back to Naruto who was chatting with Karin.

Reaching the top they went down the familiar hall and stopped at the door of what would be Tsunade's office. "Last time I was at this office... Well that wasn't a pleasant conversation." She uttered as she opened the door. _'Room hasn't changed one bit._ '

Everything was like she had remembered. From the countless scrolls and books on the shelves, the portraits of the former Hokage's. The same ugly two couches she had never liked; _'Well that be one thing I change about this room.'_ Walking inside with her grandson and Karin Tsunade took in everything as she stopped at the desk. _'Yup, even the desk is still the same...'_ She rolled her eyes before she took off her Kage hat. "Don't think I was ever much of a hat person." She stared fire symbol for a good minute. "Have got a lot a work ahead of me."

"Leading a village must not be easy work" Karin commented, breaking off her small chat with her cousin. "Domestic affairs, foreign affairs, the logistics behind the shinobi corps, the projects and operations that need your personal supervision and approval, the-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I get it" Tsunade stopped her before she could continue. "Thanks for reminding me of all the paperwork I'll have to do..." Gods there was a lot of stuff she just DIDN'T want to deal with as a Hokage. But whatever, if her job was hers she would do it her way, she wouldn't be wasting time playing politics. Sarutobi-sensei, gods bless him, had been an outstanding teacher, but too many times circumstances had forced him to play along this dumb game when there was no need.

The fuck up that was the Hyuuga-Cloud affair was a prime example.

And then there were the other things they had revealed to her, the Uchiha Massacre...

Gods fucking damn it.

But she was in charge now; she wouldn't be letting anything like that ever happen again.

Well, when the day came she was tired of this job; at least she had a perfect little successor she could groom to inherit it one day. "What do you think, kid?" She coyly asked with a smile, "Think when the day comes you'll be able to do this?" And why not? Naruto was family, someone she could trust, with enough years of experience and preparation Naruto could be turned into an ideal candidate.

The younger blonde scratched his head, "I mean, I guess"

Huh, that was... odd. Hasn't even been a day since she came to Konoha and already most of the thing Kushina and Jiraiya had told her about the kid was his ardent desire to be Hokage. Sarutobi-sensei fondly regaled her with how much the boy would boast about coming the next leader of the village one day, make people see him for who he was.

"I'm going to express myself properly here" Tsunade slowly said, "I'm not going to be in this job forever, eventually I'll need a replacement. The role is passed down to people we can trust, so it's not unusual to be handed down to relatives. Naruto" She stepped closer to him, "When the time is right, I want to prepare you for one day to take the hat" Both young Uzumaki looked stunned at the proposal. "Sarutobi-sensei let this job drain the life out of him for decades, a lot of circumstances played against him, but he should have worked in preparing the next heir with anticipation like many villages does"

Had he actually groomed young Kakashi after the Kyuubi Attack, he'd be the one wearing the hat right now, and not her. But that was not here nor there.

"So" She crossed her arms under her bust, "What do you say?"

For the longest time, the boy remained silent.

Once upon a time, he would jumped at the opportunity. To be trained to become Hokage one day, the realization of his dream, it was pretty much guaranteed if he took it. To have the people of the village look at him with pride instead of disdain.

To stand above the others and have them acknowledge his existence.

But now...

Those people were just strangers on the street, their eyes and gazes easily forgotten when he remembered the kind smiles of his friends, his teachers, his relatives, and most of all his mother's. He would still protect the people of Konoha as was his duty as a ninja, but...

"I don't know..." He finally said, even he sounded very lost and confused by the words that came out of his mouth.

Tsunade knelt down to her grandson getting a better look in his eyes; "You don't know?" Karin gave her cousin a curious gaze as well.

The blond rubbed the back of his neck; "Why I wanted to be Kage was so people could see me as 'me' and not the damn fox. Show even a screw up could make it to the top and be leader of the village." He paused for a minute, like her trying to find the right words of what he wanted to say; "But everything felt like it changed when getting this." He raised up his hand as a crystal kunai appeared. "A late bloomer Ero-Sennin called me. After getting this, everything just started to become so different."

Which begged a question Tsunade felt she should ask, given how everything has been; "How have you been dealing with it?" Now having chosen to sit down on the floor to be more comfortable, the kids following suite.

Karin felt her cousin's chakra fluctuate for second before going back to normal. "I-I think I'm still trying to process it all. My mom who I thought was dead just comes back out of nowhere from some super Fūinjutsu scroll made by woman who's my great-great-grandmother. Find out my father was the man who I've idolized since Jiji told me about the Hokages. I belong to two actual clans, and then relatives of said clans come here to be with us. I have genuine friends now..." Tears reamed at the edges of his eyes. "It just feels like I'm in a whirlwind and can't catch a break yet."

So much so he had been reevaluating on becoming Hokage or not. It no longer felt like something he _needed_ to do.

Biting her lip the Senju felt a pang in her heart at seeing how lost her grandson looked. So much so he was surprised when he was wrapped into a hug by Tsunade, resting her chin on his head. "Not sure what you really want to do now do you?" she spoke quietly while Karin was beside them rubbing Naruto's shoulder. "Well, take your time kiddo. You'll figure out what you want to do eventually."

The younger blond did not reply but nodded quietly.

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

"Ahhhhh!" Kushina dropped down on a large couch that had been gathering dust for years, making a cloud of dirt float all around her. "Haven't been in this place in ages!" She said before coughing.

"It warms my heart to see this place was taken care off..." Tsunade sardonically droned.

The Senju manor was a prime example of status. A complex large enough to host the core members of the Senju clan, traditional in design, with multiple rooms and a wide garden where Hashirama had personally grown plenty of beautiful trees surrounding a large pond.

Kushina had never really been a fan of the traditional style of architecture, but at least some rooms did have more modern furniture. This particular room had multiple chairs surrounding a coffee table, a good informal place to welcome guests. Nothing like the rooms dedicated to hold proper tea ceremonies.

Not that Kushina or Tsunade had ever used those. Though Tsunade didn't mind the traditional style of the compound (she had grown up here after all) she didn't have a single shred of patience for traditional practices. Much to her grandmother Mito's chagrin.

Some people would say Kushina had gotten that to from her, but those who knew her since she was a toddler knew it was merely a natural development for the redhead.

Saito nodded gracefully to the new Hokage, "It's an honor for you to have us here, Tsunade-sama"

"Oh just drop the formality." Tsunade quipped with an eye roll; "The Senju and Uzumaki are family, and I am part Uzumaki if you recall. There is no need for that at home, let alone when I'm not at the office."

Lyn smirked as she sat beside Samenosuke on a chair; "I like you."

"Another thing." the Senju mused while helping Shizune make some tea for everyone. "If you all don't want to say at hotels while in Konoha, get your stuff and live here." There was more than enough room in this place for a large family to live at. And the house needed more people than just her, Shizune, and whenever Naruto comes to visit.

At that Kushina whined; "But I had plan and everything to remodel my house for everyone!"

"Um, hime the way your house is designed you'd have to completely rebuild and remodel it from the ground up." Samenosuke weakly grinned with a retort.

Lyn made her voice also heard "And Kya and me are comfortable where we are Kushi." The buxom redhead snorted at being flipped off by the former ANBU; "Same wants to sleep you, not me."

Saito groaned as he rubbed his brow at the antics. "Thank you Tsunade." He gave a nod to the new Kage who grinned back as she brought over the tea.

"Though this place could use a cleaning hand" Kushina pointed out, patting at the couch and watching the dust rise up. "Oh! I'll get Naruto to do it. He can do it easily with his clones"

Tsunade dryly looked at her before serving tea to Saito who gracefully accepted it. "You know, you too can span clones like they're going out of style. Why don't you actually put in the very simple effort to clean the house? At most it'd take you a few hours"

"'Cause I'm adult with her own house now, I don't have to do chores anymore, sucka!" She did a double V-sign with a wide grin. "...Except, you know, the ones around my house..."

Samenosuke laughed at the grown woman digging herself, Saito didn't have the strength to even sigh at her immaturity. He'd run out of breath at this point.

Lyn rested her chin on her palm, looking at Kushina unimpressed. "Did you honestly raise her?"

"You don't raise Kushina. You give her instructions and pray things don't fall apart around her"

At that moment an exited Naruto ran in with Karin and Soujiro; "This place is awesome!" The blond exclaimed brightly. Karin also bore an elated expression while Soujiro's was reserved like normal.

Tsunade smiled at seeing his smile; "I'm glad you like it. There is a lot more to explore so go look around some more." At that the blond nodded as he and the other two children ran off the to explore the manor.

"Last time I remember children running around here was when you brought Mikoto, and others over." The Senju reminisced fondly.

Kushina however said nothing as she observed her son, Karin, and Soujiro leaving the room and roaming the manor. They'd be busy for a while, looking all over the place as much as they could. That brought her a good window of opportunity to finally tell someone what had been weighting on her for some time now, ever since Jiraiya talked to her that night.

Honestly, part of her didn't fully believe it but... Gods it was all just so crazy.

But one thing she was certain of is that she needed to share this with her family.

She reached forward upon the coffee table and with a simple tap of her finger a seal array formed, large enough that the others were caught within its reach.

Of course, this drew confused and surprised stares from her sudden action. Saito took one look at the seal and frowned, "Silence seal? Why did you put this up?"

"So the kids don't hear us if they come back"

"Ohhh are we going to tell dirty stories~?" Samenosuke grinned, always with his mind in the gutter. "Cause I just have a few I've been DYING to tell~"

"Put your dick back in your pants" Tsunade annoyed commanded the lecherous redhead. "Kushina, what's this all about?"

"Jiraiya told me something the other day" Her daughter sighed, "I've been wanting to tell you guys" She said the three redheads present, "Just didn't find the right time and then the whole mess with the old man began..."

"Well this sounds serious" Lyn raised a brow, setting down her tea. "What's eating you?"

Her next words made their eyes widen, "It involves that woman we met the other night, Tomoe, and how she knows baachan"

"Wait, that woman who said baachan was her teacher?" The wild maned Uzu leaned in. "Yeah, that was confusing as hell, what was up with that?"

"I..." Tsunade slowly spoke, "feel I'm missing a lot of context. Who is Tomoe?"

"A sage like Jiraiya, apparently. Like baachan is" Kushina took a deep breath, "I'm not sure you will believe me, I barely believe it myself, but what she told Jiraiya, and he says the toads confirmed what she said. And it's all just so... so insane. It's like something straight out of fairy tale or an old myth even"

The Senju and Uzumakis all shared a concerned look, whatever Kushina wanted to share with them, it was clear that it had been too much to handle. For Kushina of all people to look wary like this, it had to be something that had disturbed her greatly, whatever she learnt had shaken her to the core.

But that just made them want to even more, if it involved their beloved grandmother.

"Tell us" Saito spoke on the other's behalf.

And Kushina did.

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

The former ANBU captain honestly was not sure how long she had been telling the others of what she learned from Jiraiya. But it was well over an hour she had guessed as Naruto and the kids were still exploring the Senju manor. And the revelation of the news delivered to them was exactly like how she took it.

Everyone's eyes were as wide as possible, their skin pale white with immense shock, pure terror, and utter disbelief. All bore the same look as none had touch their tea to the point it grew cold. The Uzu woman sighed as she had finished a few minutes ago, but silence hung over the room like a thick mist.

Samenosuke's mouth moved for several moments as he seem to try to speak. But no words came for a full minute; "B-by the Gods..." he uttered in a whisper

Shizune robotically turned to her teacher who was not fairing any better than she was. The Senju's hands couldn't stop shaking till she clasped them together. Lyn seemed to be lost in her thoughts while Saito remained barely composed as he and everyone processed what they had learned.

"And we're certain this is the truth?" The Uzu swordsman questioned his cousin.

"I've never known Gamamaru-Sama to lie about things." Tsunade responded before her daughter; "As much as what we just heard sounds outright impossible. It is real."

"B-But that is... I mean I just can't..." Lyn stammered, unable to even properly express herself. Her mind was a haze of jumbled thoughts. "Baachan, she told us she was-"

"She lied" Kushina cut in, "She lied to us about how old she really was, and... knowing this, I guess I can understand now"

Samenosuke let out a shuddering breath, running a hand through his long red locks. "And all that other stuff, t-the things that happened in the past. Gods it makes the ninja wars look like playground kids through mud at each other..."

The wild maned Uzumaki let out a humorless laugh, standing up and pacing. "And she fought there, baachan fought in that horrible time to keep the world safe. But even then everything just..." Her voice became heavy, thick with emotion. "She sacrificed so much, for so long. Centuries, thousands of years even..."

Samenosuke queried with concern, "What does it mean for us now?"

"At the moment" Kushina replied, "Nothing... But Jiraiya, he is convinced something is coming. The animal elders believe there are forces at work that seek to end this world. Baachan... she fought them for so long, did far, far more than any of us can ever understand"

Tsunade sighed; "At the present we can be ready for anything. We can do that for Tsukiko-sama, it's what she would have wanted"

Lyn clinched her hands into fists; "I know she's not dead. She can't be."

"We can't let our emotions cloud our thinking Lyn." Saito addressed; "I want to believe that as much as we all do. But unless some kind of lead or trail shows evidence to that we can't run all over the nations looking."

"Fuck that!" She slammed her hands on the table, once she stopped pacing. "The clan is scattered to the winds, Uzu is in ruins, and we have not done a damn thing to carry on her legacy! You know what we should do? We should find every last Uzumaki out there; we should make the clan strong again, and take the fight to those sons of bitches that want to destroy everything baachan did!"

"Do you know who the enemy is?" Tsunade spoke up in a flat tone. "Who is the mastermind behind it all? How many forces does he or she or they command? Their base of operations? And do they have spies anywhere?"

"How the fuck should I know!" Lyn seethed out with a glare towards the older blond; "But won't matter if we have all the Uzumaki back and-"

"Get our entire clan annihilated with some wild half-baked plan!" Tsunade roared back. She had already lost the Senju, she would be damned if she lost the only relatives she had left.

"But it's something we have to do!" The demon hunter glowered. "Tsukiko-baachan dedicated herself to protecting this world, as her heirs, we should be following in her footsteps! Hell, you have an entire village at your command, can't you use your resources to find her? Or find the enemy she had been fighting?!"

"I hold a lot of respect for Tsukiko-sama, more so now after having learnt this" Tsunade sternly replied, "But I am not going to prioritize the sages' affairs over the safety and prosperity of my village."

"'Sages' affairs'? This is our clan we're talking about here, baachan's legacy!"

"We all want to see the clan together again, Lyn" Saito sadly spoke, "But Uzu is gone, even if we managed to find others, banding together again would once again paint a target on our back. We can't risk-"

"Don't you dare bring that bullshit again, Saito! I tolerated it for too many years!" She seethed, "That's not living, that's just surviving! And I'm tired of pretending 'we can't do it', I'm tired of pretending this is our lot in life! We were a proud, strong clan, we helped the dragons keep the peace between the animal clans, we battled demons wherever we found them, and I am not going to pretend it never happened!"

She paused, taking in gasps of air, her bout of passionate anger that had been boiling for a long time finally burst. She could not hold it in any longer.

"Baachan set an example for all of us to live by. Finding out all that stuff about her... it only makes me feel all the more proud she's our grandmother. Maybe you guys don't know what to do, but I sure as hell do" Lyn declared, her voice resolute and strong like steel. "I've spent my life hunting demons, evil spirits, doing what I could to follow baachan's footsteps. So I'm going to find that Tomoe lady, I'll fight the enemies she and baachan fought for so long... and I'll find her as well"

"Or end up getting yourself killed before you even find a clue on where she could be." Tsunade argued back earning a glare from the wild haired Uzumaki.

Lyn stomped over and leaned down so her angry face stared right into Tsunade's equally irritated expression; "Fuck thinking." She growled before standing straight and walking out of the room. "We twiddled are thumbs for too damn long! The Dragons and this Tomoe can't do the work on their own forever. Or did we forget the Dragons are our family by blood!"

"Lyn!" Kushina yelled as she stood up but the buxom redhead had already left. The former ANBU sighed as she sat back down; "Well that went well..."

"She has been holding that in for a long time." Samenosuke commented quietly; "Not that I don't disagree with her." All eyes turned to him; "Shouldn't we be _doing_ something?"

"Like what?" Shizune finally made her voice heard; "We have next to nothing on whoever this enemy might be. It would be suicide to try anything until we have some kind of intel."

"It just feels... wrong" The roguish Uzumaki admitted, "I mean, I get that Tomoe lady talked to Jiraiya about it. He's a sage like her, sages have this role of preserving balance or something, so this is their responsibility. But if something really bad is coming then wouldn't you guys have the clan reunited again when it's time to face it?"

"We don't know how many survived, Samenosuke" Saito interjected. "We've only found a few in our travels. And they all went their separate ways still"

"Because we're still hiding" He countered, "We've been hiding for a damn long time. Sure, we're not the village we used to be, but I believe that if we made the effort we could actually find enough people to rebuild the clan."

"And then what? Our enemies will be after us yet again, and this time we're weaker" The swordsman pointed out the potential danger. "We have survived for this long because we've been cautious. Believe me when I say this pains me, but gathering the clan again... I don't think it's a good idea"

"Oh sure" Anger creeped into the long haired man's words, "Because hiding like we did for decades was such a great idea to begin with. We missed the chance of coming to Konoha when we could, we could have lived here with Kushina"

"We were just children" Saito defended himself, slamming a hand against his leg.

"And now your son missed his childhood because of this sort of life he was forced to go through"

For the first time in Kushina's memory she swore she saw genuine rage in Saito's eyes as the man rose from his seat. The roguish Uzumaki knew he overstepped, but there was no going back to that now as he too had gotten to his feet as well.

However before a word or action could be said or done, the entire room soon felt overwhelmingly heavy with killer intent flooding off of Tsunade. Everyone paled as the Senju glared at both men; "I get the fact you bunch have been through a lot. You all have endured more than what you should have. But I will not have you two start fighting in my house. Am I clear?" The female Sannin spoke with a calm edged tone. Her eyes bore into both men who froze from the level of rage and the amount of chakra rolling off her.

Kushina could only watch helplessly as the two men merely sat down again, refusing to look at each other in a show of pointless pride. She felt responsible in part, the issues that had been growing for years between them finally emerged to the surface. And if she were being honest, she really wanted to go with what Lyn was saying. Getting the clan together again, taking the fight to whoever made Tsukiko-baachan disappear... which meant joining a war that had been going on in the shadows for who knows how long, when their clan had already suffered enough loses to war.

She had a duty here, to her son, to her village. But what about the duty to her clan? By all rights she was next head, such was the responsibility that fell upon her. She liked to think she'd know what baachan would do, but it seemed Kushina didn't know her as well as she believed...

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

Lyn fumed to herself as she jumped from rooftop to rooftop, the sun was already setting and turning the sky orange, its light reflecting over the buildings as the shadows grew bigger.

She might be called shortsighted or headstrong, but their words didn't matter to her. Lyn knew who she was, she was Tsukiko's granddaughter, if she had to throw herself at the fire to carry on her grandmother's legacy then she'd do it without hesitation.

Tsunade, Kushina, they didn't understand. They had lived their whole lives as ninjas; they didn't know the world beyond that perspective. She had been out there, fighting ever since she was a child, killing monsters or demons, often those in human form, because she knew that was the right thing to do.

So it angered her that they had heard just how much of a hero Tsukiko was, and they still decided to play their pointless shinobi games. Kushina specially, who decided to continue this life instead of following their beloved baachan's footsteps.

She bit her lip as a snarled escaped her lips _; 'Kushi can keep playing ninja if she wants. I'll take on Baachan's role!'_ The buxom redhead landed on the veranda her and Kya's apartment.

Inside Kya's brow rose as he lover stomped inside and sat down beside her at the coffee table. Neither spoke for a full two minutes. The Namikaze could feel the tension and anger coming from her lover; "A fight with Kushina, again?" What she assumed since both seemed to go at each other tooth and nail.

Tapping the table with her fingers Lyn growled; "Not just Kushi. Just the rest of the damn family being stubborn asses..." And as usual for Kya, her girlfriend went on a rambling tirade like she usually had gotten when upset.

This could have gone on for an hour if the Namikaze had allowed it. Or when her patience finally waned, but not this time. "Lyn." The demon slayer stopped mid-sentence peering towards her; "We need to talk."

"...Okay~. What's going on?" The buxom redhead cocked her head in a curious manner.

It took a moment for Kya to gather her thoughts before speaking; "I plan on going to the Namikaze Shrine tomorrow, I'll take Naruto along since he is Namikaze and needs to know our rituals and lesson. After bringing him home I will be leaving." Lyn blinked for moment before she felt her heart drop what was said next; "And I won't be coming back."

"...Huh..."

"This is a decision I've come to, to further my Senjutsu training to-"

Lyn interrupted; "What the hell do you mean 'won't be coming back'?"

"Must I say it any plainer?" Kya spoke quietly meeting her lover's eyes; "I'm leaving Lyn."

"To... where?"

"I do not know" The Namikaze replied, "I will embark on my own journey, trying to reach senjutsu"

The redhead's knees felt weak, it was a good thing she was already sitting. Lyn looked lost, like she couldn't truly process what she was hearing. "Why?"

A long sigh escaped her lips, "You know I've been training for years now, and yet, the results continue to elude me. I've come to the conclusion that my spirit is not ready, because I continue to cling to the attachments I've made"

"Attachments" Lyn repeated, her tone unreadable. "You mean me"

Kya said nothing.

"Is it... something I did?" It made a painful pressure appear on Kya's chest, to hear Lyn so pained like that. "I know I always get us into a lot of trouble, that I push you to do things you don't want to, I-I'm just trying to get you to relax and have fun. I'll stop if you want me t-"

"It's not that, Lyn" The Namikaze shook her head, "Or... maybe it is. I'm not entirely sure" She ran a hand through her messy blocks. "I told you long ago, when our paths aligned after all countless back and forth, that the moment would come where I could continue on my own"

"I thought..." Lyn's voice cracked, "I thought you were happy"

She thought she had made her happy.

"...I realized being with you, living as you do, has strayed me from my path, from my true calling of becoming a sage" Blue eyes gazed at her with remorse. "I never meant to lead you on like this Lyn, I thought that I would have resumed my travels a long time ago"

To reach the spirituality she sought, she needed to cut those ties that held her to the material world. Only nature and the spirit mattered if she were to reach senjutsu.

"The truth is, that you and I are opposites in every way" Kya tried to rationalize things, as though that was of any help at the moment. "What future would you have shared with me?"

The Uzumaki, eyes shining with gathering tears, solemnly looked at her. "A good one"

A deep pang gripped Kya's heart but shook it off. This had to be the way, and she had to fulfill her path as a sage. The Namikaze rose from her chair and leaned forward. She patted Lyn's hand before turning around walking towards the door.

"After tomorrow, you won't see me again." Kya uttered before opening the door.

"So that's it?!" Lyn exclaimed, standing up so fast she knocked the chair back. "After all we've been through, everything we shared, you turn around and leave like it never happened?!" Her eyes burned as she struggled to hold back the tears. "This isn't about senjutsu Kya! This is about you once more being afraid that you opened up, and it's terrifying you!" Ragged breathes escaped her lips. "I thought… I thought I actually made you happy enough that you wouldn't feel the need to be alone anymore… Was everything we had worthless then?"

The Namikaze had remained still for a moment, giving Lyn the hope that her words had reached out to her.

Those hopes died down when Kya stepped outside the room and closed the door.

Silence took hold of the room as Lyn stared with wide eyed at the door. The tears no longer held back with a mournful wail soon left her throat. Her body shook, as she ran her hands over her face several times. She paced around as her tears and anguish deepened further in her heart. She screamed, not realizing she picked up the table and threw it into the wall. The chairs came next, destroying them in seconds before she fell on the floor clutching her chest.

Outside the room in the hall Kya had paused as she heard Lyn's destroying the room and wailing in utter pain. The mocha skinned blond clinched her fist; _'You'll get passed this Lyn. Find someone who can actually follow you and make you happy.'_ She ignored the stray tear from her eyes as she continued walking. _'My path is elsewhere.'_

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

Kushina didn't consider being dragged out of her house at 10:30 at night to deal with one of her relatives making a complete fool of themselves to be a good way so spend her evening. At first she thought it was Samenosuke, getting chased by some girl's furious father, but the ninja who requested her assistance informed her it was actually her female relative who was making a ruckus in a bar.

Ugh, like Lyn didn't make things difficult already for the family. She'd rather go back home, make some tea and read a book on her comfy yet empty bed, all alone in the bedroom...

Okay maybe she'd have a drink too.

The restaurant district was always lively at night, red lamps hanging above the streets, the cheerful voices of people seeking to have a fun night, the district was full of karaoke bars and joints where wonderful food was prepared by the finest cooks in the village. It was no coincidence many of those places were owned by the Akimichi clan.

One such large bellied Akimichi was standing by the entrance to a middle sized bar, looking nervously inside before turning to look at the Uzu matriarch as she approached. "Oh, Kushina-dono, thank Ebisu-no-kami you're here"

"Well, when I heard Lyn was making a scene I figured it was only a matter of time before something gets broken" The Uzumaki said in resignation.

"Yes, standard protocol for when an Uzumaki is clearly inebriated is to have the situation defused before it escalates"

The Akimichi weakly attempted to avoid the dry deadpanning glare from the redhead. As much as Kushina wanted to contest it, a drunken Uzumaki was ten times worse than a normal one. Especially the angry ones. And as much as she and Lyn never had gotten along, she hoped the woman would be placid enough to be reasoned with to go back to her apartment.

Strolling past the Akimichi her ear soon picked up Lyn conversing loudly at the local dive she used to go to ages ago. "I SAVED the Land of Tigers! And didn't even get a thank you note!" The former ANBU ran her hand over her face hearing to Lyn's boastful declaration. "Kya-Chan and I beat every monster asshole, the ungrateful shits..."

Walking into the pub, the place had not changed from what she remembered. Numerous tables, bench table with leather seats, the bar with stools. She took notice of every patron cringing as they had to listen to Lyn seemingly ranting at the bar.

"You have any idea who many demons I killed?! How many bad guys I put under?!" She demanded to know from a nearby ninja in a flak jacket. "Well do you?!"

"N-N-No" The man stammered; inching back as the drunken redhead dangerously drew close.

"Me neither! That's how many!" She suddenly burst laughing before downing a good portion of her large mug of beer. "Ahhh that's the good stuff!"

Good lords, Kushina winced; she swore she could see Lyn's breath...

"We had so many adventures together, and now she's just throwing it all away like it never happened!" She slammed the glass against the bar, shattering it. Lyn briefly gave a crestfallen look at the liquid spilling over the bar. "Now who the fuck threw that...?" She rasped in a quieter voice.

"Ma'am" Either the barkeep was too brave, or too stupid to realize trying to reason with the woman was a dangerous idea. "I think you've had enough-"

"None of your fucking business!" She grabbed the poor man by the collar, "I DESERVE to drink myself silly, you hear me?! Cause I did nothing but good deeds all my life, and yet this one still bends me over and fucks me in the ass like some bullshit twisted karma!"

 _'Not a mental image I wanted to see 'ttebane...'_ Kushina mentally groaned as she walked over and grabbed the buxom redhead's hand; "Okay, let the barkeep go." She addressed her cousin slowly like speaking to a child.

"Of course you'd have to show up now." Lyn glared as she released the man and turned her attention to Kushina; "What do you want Kushi?"

"How about you not causing a shit-show here?" Kushina shrugged taking a seat beside her disgruntled kin. "What has your panties in a twist?"

Surprisingly, the typical loud and currently very intoxicated Uzumaki was silent.

A groan came from Kushina; "Alright, I know we have never gotten along since we were kids, we have always fought like cats and dogs. But we're still family so whatever is bothering you I will listen you know."

Once more she was met with silence much to her annoyance. The former ANBU captain peered over to a Chunin at the bar; "Has she said anything about what's bothering her?"

"She keeps bringing up that Namikaze that's usually with her."

"Kya?" Hmm, she hadn't seen her today. Then again, that wasn't a rare occurrence. The Namikaze kept to herself most of the time; Lyn had to literally drag her to have dinner with them sometimes. "Does she know how you're behaving right now? What would she say if she saw you like this?"

Her words did not have the intended effect; instead Lyn snorted ruefully, her hand blindly reaching out for another glass on the bar. "What do I care?"

Her response sent quite a few alarms on Kushina's head. She looked at the wilder haired woman with concern, her gaze softening. "Lyn" She called out to her with a gentle voice. "Did something happen?"

The other redhead ignored her, instead filling her glass with a shaky hand.

"Lyn" She called out more strongly this time, "I need you to talk to me"

Once more, the demon hunter ignored her.

"I can't help you if you don't-"

The glass flew from Lyn's grasp and crashed against the wall, shattering in a hundred pieces. Patrons ducked and moved away from the impact zone, and a lot more quickly began to leave the place as the killing intent slowly picked up from the wild haired woman's form.

"I don't need your help" Lyn bitterly spat.

Kushina merely stood behind her in silence, there was no need for her to ask again.

"...We broke up" The former ANBU felt her eyes rise in pure shock. "Said her fucking path to Senjutsu was away from me and all that sagey bullshit." She drunkenly sneered; "Baachan had a fucking family didn't she?!" Her anger kept growing as she seethed. "Going to take your brat to the Namikaze shrine then vanish into the fucking wind."

"Wait, take my son where?" Kushina questioned with a cocked brow

Lyn turned to her cousin; "Are you kidding me? Didn't your hubby the hero ever talk his clan's shrine? Or are you so out of touch being a ninja, you have 'more important' things to do."

"Now where the hell did that come from?" Kushina rested her hands on her hips glaring. The dig on her late husband also sparked her ire.

"Well you sure didn't look too interested in continuing baachan's work" Despite her current state, the wild maned Uzumaki still found it her to be rather articulate. "You know what I think? I think that you've been a ninja for so long you forgot what it actually means to be an Uzumaki"

"...I'm going to give you the chance to take those words back" The killing intent would have rendered lesser people unconscious, it was fortunate the bar had been vacated. "Because you are clearly drunk, and have no idea what you're talking about"

"Oh don't I?" Lyn sneered, spreading her arms and letting them fall against her legs. "I heard a lot of stuff about you, 'Red Death'" She spoke the title with mockery. "You don't get that title by playing nice, oh no... You killed a lot of people"

"I've fought in a war" The Uzumaki matriarch replied, "It's either kill-"

"Don't try to justify yourself" The demon hunter seethed. "You may have gotten your title in wars, but you earnt it long before that. Tell me tell me" She made a motion with her hand, as if beckoning closer. "How many times did you fight not because this village told you to, but because you wanted to protect someone who couldn't fight for themselves?" She stood and walked closer with wobbly steps towards Kushina, "How many people did you kill just because they were in the way?" Lyn was inches from her face, enjoying the pure enrage glare she was receiving. "How many times did you go along with this bloody system the ninjas created, abandoning all baachan taught us and bringing shame to her?"

While it is widely known that Kushina has a wild temper, there were few rare cases where she had physically snapped to the point she attacked someone. She always had enough self-control to keep herself from actually harming people. But what Lyn had just said to her, drunk state or not, it struck a chord deep within that she felt something snap inside her. Thus why her body moved out of pure instinct slamming her fist right into her inebriated cousin's face.

If Kya was ready for a fight, which she likely was given her hostile attitude, she still did not see Kushina hit her. The force of the punch sent the buxom redhead stumbling into a wall. Lyn had no time to collect her thoughts as her cousin leapt at her fists raised for a fight.

"How dare you!" A fist punched the wall so hard it created a web cracks, had Lyn not dodged just in time she would have been put down for the count. "Don't you ever say I would dishonor baachan! Who the fuck do you think you are?!"

Her violet eyes widened when Lyn's legs suddenly pressed against her chest and kicked the Uzumaki matriarch in the stomach, sending her flying back. Kushina landed on all four, coughing a few times before giving Lyn as heated glare as this one stood up.

"Who am I?" The wild maned Uzumaki spat a glob of saliva and blood. "I'm the only one who's been keeping her legacy alive! What the hell do you know of honor, you ninja?!"

Then, there was chakra everywhere.

The energy radiating from them was so heavy, so intense, it cracked the floor surrounding them with its sheer pressure, and the killing intent becoming so deep a lesser person would drown in it and most likely lose control of all motor functions. The ninjas standing outside felt their knees grow weak.

Rationality had long since been discarded, Kushina's pride had been insulted, Lyn's heart was broken, and there was no reasoning with the two. Both of them just wanted to punch something, as though that would make all their problems go away. At the very least, it would make Lyn forget the pain, and distract Kushina from how much Lyn's words actually stung.

The demon hunter was burning, literally, as flames slowly licked at the edges of her skin and grew in intensity with each passing second, spreading like a wildfire before her entire form was shrouded with hungry flames, her snarling face resembling a dragon about to go on a rampage.

Dozens upon dozens of chains erupted from Kushina's back, golden tipped blades poised to strike with velocity and ferocity with but a simple mental command, and unleash a rain of chakra-forged metal.

What followed could have been a display of such fury that it would be worthy of tales, perhaps the types parents tell their children in order to behave.

That is, had it not been for the fact a pair of smoke bombs slipped into the trashed bar, too distracted they had been by their confrontation and anger they had missed them entirely. So when a light colored smoke began to fill the building, they had been too slow to react, and were swiftly rendered unconscious by the knock out gas.

As the gas settled stood a figure in a hooded cloak and ANBU mask, Commander Fox sighed beside Neko and Kuma. "Least we stopped things before they brought down the building." The man uttered before gesturing to his ANBU subordinates; "Take the captain and her cousin to a cell to calm down. And make sure they have chakra suppression seals on them for the gods' sake…"

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

Tsunade bit back a loud groan as she strolled into the ANBU cells where her now awoken daughter sat quietly in her cell. A block over was a loudly snoring Kya for whom both ignored.

"Not even a day as Hokage and my daughter is thrown in prison." The Senju mused crossing her arms under her generous bust. "What happened?"

Kushina's brow cocked glancing to her mother; "Fox didn't leave a report?"

"Oh he did. But I want to get the explanation from you and dumb ass over there." The redhead rolled her eyes but kept her gaze to the floor.

The redhead let out a long sigh, tipping her head back until it touched the wall. "Got called in to deal with Lyn, who was drunk off her ass and making a mess"

"I haven't been here long" Tsunade replied, crossing her arms, "Is this behavior usual for her?"

"She likes to drink with some gals here, Anko became a favorite drinking partner of hers" She explained. Her lips pursed as her gazed shifted, sympathy once more present rather than the anger she had felt. "But today... Lyn told me she and girlfriend Kya broke up"

"The Namikaze..." Tsunade muttered to herself. Boy had it been a surprise to hear there were Uzu survivors in Konoha, but to hear there was another member from Minato's clan as well. Though she wasn't the ray of sunshine Naruto's father was by what she heard. "Ouch"

"Yeah. Then she began ranting at me about the argument we had today, you know, about the stuff we learnt of Tsukiko, and what we should do..."

"Mh-hmm" Tsunade replied unamused, she remembered fairly well.

Kushina paused for a moment, and her mother noticed her hands flexing and unclenching, which she knew was a sign that Kushina was trying to reign in that fiery temper of hers. "She pretty much called me a sellout, that I... that I wasn't honoring baachan's memory by being a ninja, all the contrary"

Tsunade's gaze softened, understanding and realization behind what happened in the bar becoming all the more clear to her.

"It must have been the alcohol, mixed in with how much hurt she was over what happened with Kya but..." She slowly shook her head, jaw tightening. "That just made me so angry..!" She seethed through clenched teeth.

Tsunade could vividly recall the ancient Uzumaki's open disgust for the Shinobi system as a whole since when she was a little girl. Neither Hashirama, Mito, her parents, Tobirama could ever convince Tsukiko that it was a good thing, vast improvement over the terrible days of the Clan Wars era. Not that Tsunade disagree with her since what considering what happened to so many members of her family…

"Did I make the right choice being a ninja?"

Her daughter's question surprised for a second before she scoffed; "Choice? They made you into a Jinchurriki the moment you were brought here, that's why you came to Konoha in the first place." She winced from her own cynical statement while seeing Kushina dryly glaring at her; "Okay that was out of place. Give me a break, I'm re-learning to be a parent/grandparent."

"I mean... what if she has a point? For years as a ninja I wanted revenge for what happened to Uzu. What if I forgot what Tsukiko-baachan taught us?" The thought managed to terrify her. She had done many questionable things during her time as a shinobi, some of them she carried with her to this day. "I wasn't Minato, I wasn't willing to do something to achieve peace and..." She paused before she could ramble on, letting out a deep breath as though that could relieve the pressure she felt in her chest. "Did I really forget what was right and wrong?"

Tsunade knelt before the bars, slipping a hand through and comfortingly placing it upon her shoulder. "Oh honey" She gently spoke. "We are ninja, there is no right and wrong in our line of work. Only the village, we do what we must for its prosperity"

Her words did not reassure her in the least.

"Leave morality and strives for peace to Jiraiya and other sages that is their role. That terrible burden is not your own"

Funny, just a few days ago she had given a very similar talk to Jiraiya regarding her son...

Kushina sighed as she leaned back on the wall; "Guess you're right." Though despite saying that her heart was unsure of it. Moreover she was unsure just how her baachan would react seeing her as a ninja.

* * *

 **XxX ~ the following day ~ XxX**

* * *

Naruto and Karin were a bit more than a little surprised upon seeing Kushina coming home at dawn. Both winced as she explained what happened with Lyn and her break up with Kya. And it was around that time the aloof Namikaze came to their house to speak with the young boy.

Right now he was sitting awkwardly over the breakfast table, his mother doing her best to ignore Kya, no doubt she wanted to give her a piece of her mind for hurting aunt Lyn like that. Hell, he wanted too as well, all the times he's seen them together aunt Lyn always did everything she could to brighten Kya's, but the mocha skinned woman rarely did so much as smile.

It was really unfair to him, but his mother had been very clear. This was none of their business, and he should remain silent on the matter.

Right now, Kya sat before him with her hands joined together, her back straight against the chair, looking every bit the image of calmness.

"I will be leaving soon, so I find it best to impart my knowledge of our clan before I do so"

Despite his feelings regarding what Kya did, he still wanted to learn about his father's clan, very much so. So he eagerly listened in, replying with a simple nod.

"We will journey to an old shrine our clan built, close to Land of Forests, to perform an old ceremony where we pay tribute to our ancestors" She explained with great reverence to her words. "On the way, I shall teach you about our history, our traditions, and our ways. And in the shrine we shall honor our clan as it's due. When we return to Konoha... I will leave, and continue my own path"

Naruto blinked a couple of times, processing the information. Mad as he was, the thought of Kya leaving just like that... it didn't sit well with him at all.

Maybe he could talk to her, make her see that she could have a happy life here, surrounded by family.

He felt he owned aunt Lyn that much.

Vigor filled with renewed purpose, Naruto smiled brightly. "When do we leave?"

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX ~ xx ~ XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

 _ **The first proper 'new' chapter we have done ever since the mess that happened the time…**_

 _ **Enjoy!**_


	39. Heirs of the Namikaze

**Disclaimer:** We do not own Naruto

 **Co-author and Beta** : Etheral-23

 **Chapter 39: Heirs of the Namikaze**

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX ~ xx ~ XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

A long groan escaped Kushina's lips as she stretched while strolling through the village. Three missions in on day, not that she'd complain given the state of things. But seriously, her mother knew how to keep people busy. A supply drop at one of their outposts, two hours of overseeing maintenance on the village wall, and finally a joint search with the ANBU through one of Danzo's hideouts. Getting back home, having a shower and changing into civilian wear never felt so good.

Would have been nicer however if Samenosuke hadn't try sneaking a peek on her while bathing. Perv kept smiling despite the righteous ass kicking he got.

That little detail out of the way, the former ANBU captain roamed the village. One was reason to burn off the excess energy she had, the other was looking for her demon hunting cousin who had been scarce all day. Lyn usually came for breakfast at her house, but not today. Given what happened the other day it wasn't like Lyn didn't have a reason for being by herself. And despite the spat and fight they had, Kushina was worried about her.

Luckily a chunin had directed her to the training grounds where he had seen the buxom redhead had been there for half of the day. A battle cry drew her attention to an open field where Lyn was practicing katas with her naginata. Her moves were sloppy, too full of anger, but she kept going through them. But more over; "Your running yourself ragged Lyn." Kushina quipped with her hands on her hips.

"Oh piss off Kushi! A girl can vent can't she!?"

Oh Kushina was very much aware of that. She used to take out her frustrations on the poor training field (more than once it needed to be remade by jutsu after she was done) but it wasn't until she was forced to take some anger management classes (with varied results) that she found knitting actually suited her just fine to keep her temper in check.

There were days she could knit as much as a circus tent sometimes...

But she doubted anything other than imagining she was killing something would help Lyn right now. Well, Kushina had come here for a reason, swearing to keep her anger in check and not let anything Lyn would say get to her, her cousin really needed a sympathetic ear right now.

"Are you really going to let things end like this between you two?"

The naginata stopped, cutting the air with a metallic ring. Lyn closed her eyes and took a deep breath, her words coming out filled with frustration, anger and sadness. "Ain't much left I can do, not when I already tried so much..."

Kushina honestly couldn't understand how Lyn and Kya had fallen for each other, the two were just so different, and that was saying something considering her own history with Minato. "What drove you two to be together in the first place?"

"Sheer stubbornness on my part for one" Lyn said; planting her naginata on the ground, heaving a sigh as sweat dripped from her forehead. "We kept running into each other until we just stayed by the other's side" She let out a humorless laugh, "Have no idea what she saw in me..."

Kushina pursed her lips, "And what did you see in her?"

"Ahhh" Lyn let out a pleasant sound, throwing her head back as if enjoying a refreshing breeze. "She doesn't show it, but she's very passionate you know? About the things that are important to her. Kya... she has a beautiful soul" Her smile shrunk a little, "A hurt soul I wanted to heal"

And whatever happened to said Namikaze in question left her closed off from everyone. Karin had mentioned she felt something akin to a wall when it came from Kya. The empathic Uzumaki felt really sad for the older woman to be so distant from everyone. Yet despite that Lyn literally put herself in Kya's life to help her. "For years I tried and tried and tried to get Kya to open up. Show the real her that she hides away." Lyn paused as her voiced crack a little; "You want to know just how beautiful her smile is? It was like the looking at the sun but having no glare. Warm, brilliant, breathtaking."

Sympathy adorned Kushina's eyes as heard the pain through the words. ' _You really loved the woman didn't you?_ ' Of course she did, Lyn would have never let Kya into her life so much if she hadn't fallen head over heels for her.

Lyn peered over to her cousin; "But she chose to run away. That she had to remove herself from distractions to fulfill her clan's legacy. Complete bullshit!" The buxom redhead slumped to the ground cross legged as her weapon stayed put. "I gave her my heart and soul Kushi." She spoke as her cousin sat down beside her; "She knows things about me not even Saito or Samenosuke know of. I tried so damn hard because I knew there is an amazing person behind all that pain."

And in the end Kya was still too afraid...

"I know you think there's not much else you can do" Kushina slowly shook her head, "But I don't believe that. You tried to open her heart? Well, I think you should show her yours first"

"Pfft" She wild maned woman scoffed, "I told her I love her so many times before-"

"More than that" The shinobi cut her off, her words filled with passion. "Let her know how life without her feels empty. How much you need her as much as she needs you" She held Lyn's hand tightly, "Relationships is a two way street, trust me, it's not just you trying to help her, she completes you, I can see it"

Her cousin remained silent, starting directly into Kushina's eyes.

"You didn't survive all this time by giving up"

"...No, no I didn't" Lyn replied, her voice swelling with newfound determination. "I survived Uzu's fall. I survived wandering through the lands. And I met the love of my life in that crazy, painful and wonderful journey" Her smile became so wide it threatened to split her face. "I ain't giving up, not now, not ever"

Kushina smiled with great joy, feeling closer to Lyn than she had in a long time, back when they were kids.

"Should we hug?" Kushina proposed.

"Nnnnno, I don't think so"

"Oh thank the gods" She sighed in relief.

The two actually shared a laugh at that. They cared for each other, but they were as still stubborn as they come.

Lyn stood up, patting the dirt and grass off her pants. "You know, you don't have to continue like this Kushi"

Kushina looked up at her in confusion, "What do you mean?"

"Being a ninja" Lyn held up her hands the moment a deep frown marred Kushina's face. "Look, I'm sorry about what I said the other time okay. But... I still believe I had a point. We're Tsukiko's granddaughters for gods' sake; we're meant to do more"

"Lyn, I..." Kushina murmured as she stood; "I wouldn't even know where to start. After Uzu and becoming a Jinchurriki I devoted everything to become a ninja." The former ANBU casted her eyes to the ground; "And I did it for the reasons Baachan always told us never to do. Between my days in ANBU and the Third Shinobi War I've done things out of blind vengeance and hate. I almost became a _real_ monster Lyn." She looked her cousin in the eye. "You really think someone like me can be like Baachan? I'm not… I'm not 'righteous'"

A stern gaze came from her cousin; "You were given a second chance because of Baachan's seal. You're alive Kushi. Whatever you did back in those days are done. You're remorseful, that is enough. Same calls you our princess because that is who you are. You _are_ the princess of Uzushio, and you can be more than just some sexy badass kunoichi."

The former jinchuuriki remained silent for a moment before cracking a wry grin, "An actual compliment from you?"

"Well not sexier than me. Though I would still like to know how you hide those tits of yours."

Kushina smirked; "Kunoichi trade secret."

"Whatever," Lyn rolled her eyes; "I stand by my words."

The former ANBU grunted; "I'll... figure something out. Might do that once Naruto does too." She grinned; "Feel better now?"

"Yeah. But still feel like hitting something." She pulled out a scroll; "might as well let him out for a bit."

Kushina didn't have to wait long to find what she meant by 'him', when Lyn simply threw the scroll over the fill, this one opening and revealing its sealing matrix. Once it hit the ground Lyn prompted its release.

A burst of smoke wasn't the only thing to come out of the seal, Kushina found out the moment she heard a monstrous roar. From smoke emerged a giant beast, bipedal and wearing animal furs as a skirt, hinting that it was smart. Blue skin, a large gut, it's upper body covered in muscles, the thing had to be at least ten feet tall, with a fanged mouth, long tusks, its face was one not even a mother would love.

It growled the moment it saw Kya, stomping the ground in rage with hate in its eyes.

"What the fuck is that?!" Kushina shouted, backing away.

"Just some ogre I captured once. Let him out once in a while for training" Lyn said, placing on hand on her shoulder and rotating her arm to stretch. "I call him Dum-Dum"

As Kushina watched Uzumaki and ogre charging at each other, the former leaping in the air to deliver a devastating knee attack at the monster's face, she was briefly reminded about the Doki demons she had captured from the girl who served Orochimaru.

She really needed to ask Lyn some advice regarding what to do with them.

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

Though the chirping of the birds and the gentle rays of the sun presented a very soothing and calm atmosphere for the two travelers on the road, the truth is that the air between them was anything but.

Naruto wasn't used to silent company. Well, that was not entirely accurate being on a team with people like Sasuke and Kakashi, but even then he managed to get some bouts of conversation with the latter, and there was always Sakura to fill in the silence. But this was different, especially because Naruto really wanted to get something, anything, out of his fellow Namikaze so he could understand her more.

If he was going to convince Kya to stay with them, he'd have to get her to open up. Now, Naruto was confident on his chances given he got GAARA of all people to turn his life around. Though situation wasn't the same he could count on it being much easier.

At least he wouldn't have to fight a Bijuu...

"Soooo" Naruto started, yet again, asking question. "I take it you weren't just born knowing about our clan. Someone must have taught you"

"My parents did" Kya curtly said.

"Cool," The younger blond grinned; "What were they like?"

"The Namikaze are a nomadic semi-tribal clan who has always been in-tuned with nature. As a whole we never settled anywhere and roamed throughout the nations since the warring clans' era. My parents told me the Namikaze never started from one person, but several. Individuals who sought harmony and balance with nature and the world."

 _'And she completely avoided my question.'_ Naruto deadpanned with a twitching eye. But he still listened to the history lesson being told since there was practically next to NOTHING about the Namikaze back in Konoha. Seriously his dad and his parents (his grandparents) lived there and nobody felt the urge to take down some notes!? "You told me once the Namikaze do have scrolls and books. But no library or anything?"

Kya shook her head; "No, we never were ones to house things in one place. We do have archivists, but finding them is beyond rare since they are always on the move. However they will not hold all of our history, more like some of it while another holds the other and so on. Safer that way."

"Did the Namikaze have enemies?"

"Some, but it was more of people wanting our secrets of Senjutsu."

"Ohhh right, the sage thing" The whiskered blonde said. "Yeah mom told me about it, how that Tsukiko woman was a sage. Oh and Ero-sennin too is a sage."

Kya ignored the title he had given the sannin (Though if she was honest, the man more than had earned it). "Some learn senjutsu by being taught by the animal clans, as their people are far more in tuned with natural energies than us humans. Others learn it through spiritual enrichment and working to stablish a greater connection to the world around them, that is the path our clan choose, the one I walk" There was no mistaking the pride in her voice.

Yeah, the same path that lead her to leave Lyn a heartbroken mess. Naruto bit back that criticism he so desperately wanted to throw in her face, knowing it wouldn't help matters. Instead, he asked;

"So how far along are you?"

Not the first time that day, Kya fell silent. But Naruto saw the twitch in her hands, the way her gaze hardened as she stared down the road. It was over in a second, but the frustration she showed in that moment told Naruto far more than any words could.

They continued in silent, much to his own annoyance.

Kya chose to be an enigma. But she was one that Naruto was determined to figure out.

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

The night sky dazzled with stars and the moon above as the two made camp for the night. Naruto, true to the Uzumaki in his blood kept pestering his fellow Namikaze to learn more about her. And she had either diverted it to more Namikaze history or straight up went silent. This has been driving him utterly bonkers, not helped that Kurama got a laugh out of it.

So now the young blond sat by the campfire with several clones on guard. Kya had only raised a brow about that but agreed it never hurt to be cautious. After finishing up their meals the older Namikaze went to bed while Naruto went over some Fūinjutsu scrolls from his mother. _'Besides my dad, you ever heard anything about the Namikaze?'_ He openly asked his Bijuu. Of course he knew he'd likely get a snarky retort or silence but from the frustration he had dealing with Kya he was desperate.

 **"Before that wretched Uchiha bound me to his Genjutsu I paid no attention to humans and their goings on. So no, I know little of your clan"** Naruto's eyes flew wide as he actually had gotten a cordial response, well, cordial given the Bijuu's standards; **"You let me roam out of that damn cage brat, I can be civil at least once a day with you."** Kurama snorted as he sensed his jailer's shock. **"Don't expect it to be often."**

 _'S-sure...'_ His thoughts were interrupted by a noise coming from the tent beside him. Leaning a bit forward he could see Kya shuffling on her bedroll. _'Is she having a dream_?'

 **"Nightmare by the way it sounds."**

His blue eyes softened in concerned. What could give Kya of all people nightmares? The woman was always so closed off, he had no idea what would be so horrifying to her that it manifested in her dreams.

Maybe... that was the reason. Whatever tormented Kya so to follow her in her slumber was what she kept hidden? He did remember Lyn saying that whatever happened to Kya in her past was her own business, something she didn't just share to other people like that.

Naruto wished there was a way to understand what she was going through, to give her the sympathetic hand she clearly needed but refused.

 _'Hey can't you feel emotions and stuff?'_ He asked his tenant, recalling the things he learnt from his mother, who in turn learnt from Mito Uzumaki. Knowing exactly what Kya was feeling would be of great help, and it wouldn't be an invasion of privacy like, say, reading her mind would be.

 **"Negative emotions, kit"** the fox replied. **"Aggression, hatred, anything related to evil. Pain gets close, but I can't feel that properly. Unless you're naturally a full empath, you'd need to form a chakra link with her to feel what she feels"**

 _'A chakra what now?'_

" **That's complicated stuff, but let's just say not everyone would want that, least of all her"**

Naruto turned his gaze at the shivering form of Kya once more, hearing the soft groans, she sounded like she was in pain...

He couldn't force someone to open up like that, so all he could do was just try harder. He promised he'd bring Kya back to Konoha, to Lyn, so the two could be happy together. And he never went back on his promises.

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

When morning dawned the two blondes had a small breakfast and resumed their journey. And like before it was a mostly silent walks save for Naruto trying to speak with his fellow Namikaze. And said older blonde avoiding his questions for minor history lessons on their nomadic clan. However today the Jinchurriki did take note the distance in Kya's voice. As if her mind was elsewhere and not fully paying attention to anything.

"Were you having a nightmare last night?" Naruto's question seemed to make the buxom blond freeze for a moment before resuming walking.

She did not even bother sparing him a glance, and Naruto realized he'd once more stumbled upon one of the many subjects Kya did not want to talk about. After thinking for a moment, he came up with another thing that would shed some light on her.

"So, how did you and Lyn began traveling together?" He asked, and the shaggy haired Namikaze gave him an exasperated look. "I mean, come on, you two are like salt and sugar... You're the sugar by the way" He added in a completely dry tone.

Kya rolled her blue eyes, "Believe me, I was just as surprised"

"I bet she annoyed the hell out of you"

"Oh she did" Naruto bit back a grin at getting her to speak at last. "At first I wanted nothing to do with her, yet somehow, beyond all logic and reason, we kept running into each other. Our paths and goals coinciding very often" She let out a soft breath, "That and there was Lyn's insistence to take into account, that woman is as stubborn as a bull" She dryly glared down to Naruto; "Something the Uzumaki are rather famous for, and you seem to have gotten that as well from your mother's side."

"I'm not as bad as Uncle Samenosuke."

Well, there was that. Guess Kya could thank the gods for minor miracles. At least Naruto wasn't trying to sneak a peek while bathing like that lecher (Though has caught him staring at her breasts). "Then after both of us landed on the same monster contract we somehow stayed together. That was... five or six years ago."

"But you were happy with aunt Lyn right?" His question garnered a sharp glance from the buxom blond; "I get it, I'm only twelve, soon to be thirteen in a few months, and I don't really know relationships. But even I can tell you two were happy"

"It's..." Giving her reasons shouldn't feel this hard, not after telling herself over and over it was for the best. "It was better for both of us if we went our separate ways, we both have our paths and... they're not compatible. To reach the end of this path I've set for myself, I must rid myself of any attachments. Only then will I truly awaken my spirit"

Naruto stopped walking for a moment, "I don't think you really believe that" He softly spoke, "If you were really happy with her, you would have stayed around then instead of saying 'it's your path' or something like that. But no, you ended up have hurting her, and to me it sounds like you were afraid"

Those words felt like a physical blow, but Kya endured it, directing her gaze towards the younger Namikaze. "I do not expect you to understand-"

"Because you never say anything!" He finally snapped, the words coming out from his mouth before he could stop them. "You just stay silent all the time and don't even bother letting people get to know you! And I just can't understand why!"

The mocha skinned woman's reaction was to part her slips slightly, along with a soft widening of her eyes. Though a subtle reaction for most people, Kya had truly been taken aback by his outburst.

Naruto let out a soft breath, shaking his head in bewilderment. "Why do you insist on being alone when you clearly don't want to?"

Once more he was met with silence as they walked. A frustrated grunt escaped the younger blond as he kept two steps behind Kya. He did not see the turmoil glow in her eyes, which coincided with the ache in her heart _. 'I'm doing the right thing.'_ The thought echoed in her mind as she was trying to convince herself.

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

Day three of being Godaime Hokage and Tsunade was seriously wondering how her sensei endured sitting on this torture device pretending to be a chair. The last Senju already had the two junkie couches replaced for something more comfortable and was now debating throwing out this stupid chair while going over several papers. She really had to hand it to the old monkey; he did a good job securing an alliance with Kirigakure. Though upon discovering the bastard who nearly killed her daughter and orphaned her grandson for a time was the same one who manipulated the late Mizukage was unsettling.

And though despite Suna paying for reparations after their attack with Oto, things were going to rocky for a long while. Hopefully the bad blood won't get out of hand and wounds could heal from this mess. And then there was Danzo, ugh she really wanted some sake right now.

Beside her Shizune was going through several papers with Tonton lying on the floor at their feet. "So much backed up in only a few days when Sandaime-Sama went to the hospital." the young brunette uttered.

"And we get to work on it all, don't we feel special." Tsunade quipped dryly.

"You're glad to be back home, admit it sensei."

Shizune received received a small glare but her teacher slowly smiled all the same. It was good to be home again. A clearing from two throats made both look up. Seating on the new sofas were the two remaining elders Homura and Koharu. "Did you forget we were sitting here Tsunade?" Homura grumped.

"So that's why my headache wasn't going away."

Koharu was not amused; "Jest all you like, we are dealing with serious issues."

"Which am I currently handling aren't I?" Tsunade sardonically replied. "Between protecting our borders against potential Iwa advances, who knows have many minor nations' spies, and actually repairing the village infrastructure while still handing out assignments for our forces. I may be sitting here all day, but I'm not sitting on my ass in a metaphorical sense"

"And you've been doing an adequate job" Homura said. Ugh, would it kill him to actually say it like a compliment? "But there are matters you've been refusing to address, much like Hiruzen did"

Tsunade rested her chin on her palm, not even bothering to feign interest. "And those would be?"

"You let young Uzumaki leave with the Namikaze" Koharu said sternly, "When he could be doing something more productive for the village at such a moment of instability" They clearly were not pleased with the jinchuuriki leaving their borders in times like these.

"It's a clan thing" Tsunade waved it off, "He's a Namikaze too in case you forget"

"Which brings us to another matter" The male elder continued, "Much like Hiruzen, you've been avoiding recruiting the newcomers into our corps. They are very powerful individuals, and we would benefit greatly from their being placed into our ranks"

"We already have" Tsunade said with an edge in her voice, "From what I was told, they defended this village like it was their home"

Homura grunted; "We are grateful for their contributions in protecting the village. But they could do much more Konohagakure as Shinobi."

"So what do you suggest? Forcing them into service? Are we that desperate we've become like Iwa or Kumo?" Tsunade quipped sharply with a heated gaze; "Saito and the others along with that Namikaze girl do not want to join the Shinobi Corps and I will not press the issue. Yes, their skills and experience would be an incredible boon for the village. But I refuse to force them into service. My grandfather was quite clear on the right of choice in the village, and I will honor that. Same as I honor the alliance we had to the Uzumaki, Konoha's oldest allies. I don't care if it's just a handful of them either."

Tsunade wasn't budging on the matter, and there was nothing else for the elders to do but to accept it, begrudgingly so; "I suppose we should be glad the gods returned Kushina to us. At the very least we have one our best Kunoichi back along with her son and that Karin child." Koharu lamented.

 _'She remarks with bitter contempt.'_ Honestly did these old fossils get worse with age? They almost sound like Danzo. Speaking of the traitorous mummy; "I want the two of you checked at the hospital in case Danzo used the same Genjutsu he used on sensei." She barely hid the smirk forming as both elders gazed at shock at her.

"Are you serious?" Homura declared.

"Deadly, if he could compromise a Kage who's to say he did not do it to you two." She was enjoying this way too much at the sight of them squirming.

The elders exchanged an uneasy look.

"Perhaps... we have been very lenient on Danzo's policies" Koharu was forced to admit.

"How could we have known the depth of his activities? Or that he actually dared mind control Hiruzen that way?" Homura sighed to himself, "We've been comrades for far too long. I liked to think we knew where everyone stood, that in the end we all wanted what was best for the village"

The two stood up and made to leave, "You may criticize our advice, Tsunade, but you must understand that all we do is for Konoha's sake. Antagonizing each other gets us nowhere."

"And I respect the many years you gave to this village" Tsunade honestly replied. "But I think what you don't understand is that these aren't your times anymore. The game and the rules might be the same, but its players certainly are not"

They stopped right before Homura could open the door, directing their gazes back at the Godaime. "Are you saying we no longer know what's best for the village?"

"I'm saying that either get with the times, or you can stand back and watch"

Both exchanged looks before giving a quick bow to Tsunade as they left. A sigh escaped the Senju; "Maybe that will get them thinking."

"We can hope Sensei." Shizune remarked going back to the papers. "Oh," Tsunade looked over as her apprentice grinned; "Maybe Naruto will like this for a mission when he gets back. Looks like he and his friends could have fun with it."

"Hmm?" The Hokage raised an eyebrow as she looked over the mission request.

Well, if that unpredictable grandson of hers wasn't having fun on his current travel, then he was sure to be entertained with this.

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

"This is not fun!" Naruto exclaimed as he narrowly avoided an enormous warhammer held by a hulking beast with muscles upon muscles, skin a crimson red, it roared with pure fury and bloodlust.

 _'A lot bigger than the ogre Lyn carries around.'_ Kya frown as the beast blocked her wind attacks. _'Smarter too.'_

While on their journey to the Namikaze shrine, the two kinsmen came into a small farming village in rough shape. Several buildings were smashed while many villagers mourned the loss of loved ones. Much to her annoyance Naruto went to ask what happened instead of pressing on. Upon seeing his Konoha headband an elder woman came to him, begging for help.

A few days ago the ogre they were fighting showed up and begun terrorizing the village. Many were killed or taken when it first attacked. When it struck again a few tried to fight but were slaughtered.

So, Naruto, bleeding heart that he was, took it upon himself to swear they would take down the beast. And his tone left no room for argument; they wouldn't continue their journey unless they took the demon down.

Hence, their current situation...

Kya darted out of the way from the hammer's blow, stone cracking and sending chunks through the air. Her sword drawn in a flash, as she moved with all the swiftness of the wind, the same element coating her blade, and slashed at the ogre's leg. Dark blood poured forth as the creature howled, left leg bending as the wound forced him to his knee.

Naruto took his chance to strike, leaping to the air, materializing a spear of crystal, he jabbed the makeshift weapon into the ogre's red shoulder. But the density of the creature's muscle was too dense, his element lacking the strength and sharpness of Kya's own elementally charged sword, so it did not bury too deeply into his flesh. The ogre glared at him with those bale yellow eyes, he swatted Naruto away like a fly. His back colliding painfully against the cave's ground.

The ogre broke the spear into pieces and forced himself back up, hefting his large warhammer he roared as he brought it down upon Naruto. The jinchuuriki hastily slammed his hands on the ground, summoning forth multiple crystalline spikes, crossing over each other in multiple layers to form a barrier before him.

The hammer struck the barrier, splintering the first layer but stopping regardless. The beast growled, lifting the hammer once more, dragging pieces of broken crystal as he drove the weapon all the way over his head. But in its furious haze it had stopped paying attention to the other Namikaze, Kya dashed towards the ogre, her wind coated sword creating a diagonal cut over his back.

It roared in pain, the hammer fell limp from his grasp behind his back.

It did not have a chance to catch its breath as Kya moved with tremendous speed and dexterity, slicing off the beast's head with wind chakra enveloped around her sword. Ogre skin was nearly as tough as armor, but with the right technique it could be cut like anything else. The older Namikaze let out a sigh before cleaning off her blade.

"You're awesome." Naruto muttered as he whipped off the sweat from his brow.

Kya did not share his enthusiasm as she looked down to him; "You shouldn't overly depend on your bloodline limit." Her stern words caught him by surprise; "Yes Shoton gives you a variety techniques but limits you when using only them. You should also focus on the elements that make up your bloodline."

"Jiji told me that." Naruto remarked as he looked at the Ogre's severed head; "Still working on my wind chakra."

"And the other?" the young blond bashfully looked in another direction; "What do you have besides wind."

"Earth. But that is taking forever to learn."

Think Kya recalled Saito mentioned earth element was the most difficult to learn. But still; "Don't get laxed on either your wind or earth chakra. Harnessing those will give you more advantages. Makes you less predictable against an enemy."

"...Thanks." He was really surprised by that.

Sheathing her sword on her back, the older blonde adjusted her robes before looking around the cave. "It has been living her for some time. I'd say a few months perhaps given the time frame for when it started attacking"

Naruto looked around, and he honestly didn't see anything that might clue him in regarding the length of the ogre's stay in this cave. Sure there were a few things that showed him the monster had taken residence there, like a great bed of hay. A giant stone pot over logs where the ogre no doubt made its meals. A rack with multiple animal skins. Even a giant gourd of what he could only assume was sake in a corner next to the bed.

"How do you know?"

"You pick things up after traveling with Lyn for so long" His Namikaze cousin simply replied, approaching a corner of the cave. "The ogre first had to make sure the place was suitable for him, that means scouting the area for some time, make sure there was plenty of food nearby" She stopped, looking down at something with a frown. "And there was"

Curiously, Naruto approached her. His eyes grew wide the moment he saw what she was looking at. Bones, lots of human bones of varying types and lengths, a number of skulls which showed they belonged to multiple people. They were covered in dirt, but they all had been completely stripped from their flesh.

"He picked them clean..." He quipped in disgust.

"The species of oni-kind have a talent for that" Kya replied, "Hmm, it was alone, and it wasn't afraid to make his home near a human settlement. That's unusual..."

"Because people would come after it?" Though come to think of, he never heard of ninja taking on contracts to kill monsters. At least, not directly. The shinobi villages were more interested in missions that would benefit them politically and could undermine their enemies.

"Precisely" Kya nodded, "There's a reason demons remain far away from civilization. Yokai sightings and attacks had been far and few in between for over a century, going back to the Clan Wars era. Although..." A concerned expression form on her features. "There's been a rise on demonic activity in the last few years, they're coming closer to human territories again, and to attack out in the open during the day even like this one did, it's like something is emboldening them..."

Naruto looked at her with concern. "Like what?"

Her eyes narrowed for a moment, "It's probably nothing, maybe a coincidence" Naruto didn't like how she herself didn't sound too sure of her own her words. "Come, we must let the villagers know the ogre is dead"

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

After burying the bones into a proper burial Kya took the head of the ogre as proof the job was done. A habit she picked up roaming with Lyn on some of her demon slaying missions. Upon returning to the village they were met with enormous praise and tearful hugs as the elder offered them a place for the night and some food.

As it was nearing dusk Kya decided to stay, also in part because of Naruto's nagging. Stubborn brat...

Said younger blond in question was chatting with some of the grown-ups and other kids around a large bonfire.

He regaled them with tales of his adventures, which the children listed to with metaphorical stars in her eyes. It had to be his Uzumaki side; Lyn too was quite the storyteller when sharing tales about her exploits. Or at least, it was their Uzumaki side that made them good at dealing with children, something far beyond Kya's own expertise.

As she sat on the steps to a local Buddhist temple, observing Naruto mingling with the villagers, a hunched figure approached her. An old woman, her face wrinkly, hair long since turned gray, eyes set in a permanent squint to the point you could barely see them. She held a bowl of soup of in her hands and a kind smile on her lips.

"For you, dearie. You must be hungry after fighting that monster"

Not wanting to be impolite, Kya accepted the bowl. "My thanks" She curtly remarked.

"Why don't you sit closer, child?" The old woman asked, "I'm sure they'll love to hear about your adventures too"

"I..." She paused, "I am not much of a storyteller" She stared into the soup, "I'm more comfortable here. I don't deal well with crowds"

"Ahhh" The woman said in a sound akin to realization. "That is a shame; a pretty young woman like you shouldn't be all alone"

"I prefer it this way"

The old woman softly laughed in reply. "Many people think they do, dear. Loneliness eventually becomes much more overbearing than any amount of people in your life" Her small piece of elderly wisdom said, the woman went back to the rejoin the celebration.

Kya watched her go, sighing to herself. She just didn't understand.

The Namikaze watched the small village, the people, seemingly cheery and kind. They didn't have much but they led good lives. It reminded her... it reminded her of the place village where she was born, before...

Her eyes closed shut, a feeling of uneasiness quickly washing over her. The bowl in her hands trembled, spilling a few drops over the edges. Kya took a deep breath, reciting a mantra to the bodhisattvas, calming herself. She stared at her right hand, a bit stained with the soup, in disappointment.

So many years ago and still the mere thought of it was enough to affect her like this...

What she failed to see was Naruto observing his fellow Namikaze. Her shaking did not go unnoticed.

* * *

 **XxX ~ next morning ~ XxX**

* * *

Mori no Kuni, it lived up to its name as the path the two enter became enclosed with a large and dense forest. His mom had explained to him the Land of Forests did not have many dirt roads to walk. This made traveling via the rivers the main route to maneuver through the land. Both were fortunate to find a ferry boat at the nearest port they could find. Kya explained they would need to reach a village on the other side to get to the shrine. But next to that, hardly anything had been said between them.

Though even the boat captain could feel the tension between the two while he steered; "Not healthy seeing a parent and child at odds." The old man muttered.

"He's/she's not my mom/kid." Both blonds chorused with a sharp glare at the man.

"Ah, sorry folks. You look so similar I thought you were related"

"We ARE" Naruto muttered, casting his angry glare at Kya, who was doing her best to ignore him by looking over the side of the boat. "Though SOME people seem to act as we are not"

The boat captain cringed awkwardly, muttering to himself as he concentrated on his task with renewed focus, "Should have kept my mouth shut..."

The journey for them to reach the land upon where the Namikaze shrine was located wasn't not a very long one distance wise; to them it felt like it had taken hours. Naruto had embarked on this travel to hopefully make some connections with Kya, and get her to actually be a part of their family, yet all his efforts had been constantly brushed aside with cold indifference or silence.

It was a bit disheartening, but even he was starting to think he wouldn't get anymore with Kya...

As for the Namikaze woman, though her intention was to merely instruct Naruto on their family traditions, part of her wonder if she could have handled the issue that rose between them more tactfully. He was still very young; he did not understand that the path she had set for herself was not wrong. Isolation was a small price to pay when spiritual enrichment was the goal.

He must have thought it so horrible, to never remain on one place, to never share any moments with friends and family, both happy and sad. But to Kya, it was liberating, it meant that she could at last detach themselves from those things that held her back. Sure, it didn't mean that she wasn't making any sacrifice. She had come to... appreciate Lyn's family's attempts to make her feel welcomed. From Saito's quiet concerns, Samenosuke's passion for life, Soujiro's bright spark and insightful mind, Kushina and Naruto's overly optimistic approach at whatever challenges laid their way, all of them were praiseworthy qualities.

It just... She didn't fit there; she didn't fit that type of life.

Which was why Kya had decided to stay away, it was for the best.

...Even if it meant no longer seeing Lyn's smile, hearing her laugh, see the love in her eyes as-

Kya's eyes closed shut, forcing away the sudden pain that throbbed in her chest. Replacing it with a cool focus towards her goal to honor her clan's legacy... she just wished it didn't feel so empty. But it would be worth it, one day.

As they reached their destination, the boat stopped next to a berth built upon a small opening into the forest, clearing down into a small road that lead to the village. They paid the old man for his services and disembarked, walking through the thick sea of trees towards the village.

The walk was brief as they entered the modest size village. Half the size of Nami no Kuni but it fit given it being a small fishing village. The people were lively chatting amongst themselves, a few looking their way but paid them no mind. Still, the thought that came to the young Uzu-Namikaze made him smile a bit; "Inari would like this place."

Kya's brow rose hearing him but said nothing as they kept strolling passed the villagers. Her gazes went to the skies, it would soon become cloudy, and it looked like those were rain clouds. Perhaps they would need to seek a place to stay in the village after they were-

A loud crash startled every including the two blondes, with every nearby gaze sharply peering over to an elderly man in simple clothes. At his feet was an open crate with several tools that had fallen out. His wizened eyes were as wide as possible with his skin a pale ghostly white. Naruto was about to remark till he took notice of Kya's face.

Recognition shone in her blues as they matched the elderly man's. Said man slowly begun to tremble badly before he took off. He ran in such a frantic pace as if the devil himself was chasing him. The villagers all peered to Kya along with Naruto who now saw her expression back to its icy indifference; "Who was that?" Both recognized each other, the young Genin could read that, by why did that old guy look so terrified?

"No one important. Not anymore." Gods her tone was so cold… "The shrine is not far."

Kya resumed walking while Naruto looked to the equally confused villagers and shrugged before following her.

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

Both walked up stone steps that led up a large hill. Even before then the younger blond could see the large top to a giant tree. Wrapped tightly around it were enormous shimenawa ropes firmly tied around its trunk, tags draped the rope with the words; 'Om mani padme hum'.

Was this a seal? Naruto had never seen one like this before.

Beside him Kya gazed at the great tree with reverence as she bowed once they reached the top. Naruto followed her lead before speaking; "What did our clan do with this tree?"

"The Namikaze bound a terrible demon within this tree. It took many of our brethren to bring it down and seal it."

"Wow" He muttered, awe at hearing the feat of his ancestors.

Kya slowly went down on her knees, her hands perfectly set atop her thighs, eyes closed in concentration. "Kneel" She instructed Naruto to do so, this one trying to copy her posture as closely as he could. "We will remain sitting her for ten minutes, meditating on our ancestors, and what it means to be a Namikaze"

Naruto looked back at the great tree. "What do you believe it means?"

Kya opened her eyes, a thoughtful expression her gaze. "Hmm... to that I ask you, Naruto, what are wind and water?"

"Um..." He pondered on her question, figuring she expected a very philosophical and flowery answer. "They are free?" Honestly, it's the first thing he ever thought of when thinking of wind. He didn't really know how to explain water though, that thing was a lot of things to many different people.

"In part" She said patiently. "They are free, for you cannot cage the wind or bind the waves no matter how hard you try. If you do, they cease to be, wind becomes air, and waves become water. Stagnant. We Namikaze must always move forward like these two elements"

"Ahh" He let out a soft sound of understanding. It made sense the way she said it. "Cause... we can't live without those things either right?"

"Correct" She nodded, "Those two elements are the lifeblood of this world, as such, we nurture and guide. We pass down our knowledge to the next generation of our kin. Our breath becomes their breath, the water in our blood passing through their veins" She spoke with such a reverence to her words even Naruto felt them.

It was the closest thing he's ever heard Kya become emotional about.

"It was my parents who taught me these things" Her words took Naruto by surprise. Her eyes solemnly looking up to the great tree. "We always carry our kin with us, through water and wind. So no matter the distance, how much apart we are, the clan is always together"

It... Was odd to hear Kya speak like that. The woman who went to such lengths to be alone all the time, talking about the importance of being close to other people at an emotional and spiritual level.

There was longing in her voice, like this was the stuff she really wanted to believe in, a far cry from her empty tone whenever she spoke about isolating herself, detaching herself from any distractions in other to 'enrich her spirit'. Kya was lonely, because she felt she had to be alone. Naruto could understand that pain all too well, but whereas he fought it with every fiber of his being, to put an end to that loneliness, Kya wanted to preserve it.

But he had seen the subtle hints of happiness when Lyn was around, he had seen the obvious emptiness in her eyes whenever she spoke about choosing this path of self-destruction that only brought her misery.

Kya was lying to herself, and she desperately wanted to believe her own lies.

"What made you like this?" Naruto muttered, making her gaze snap back to him. Two pairs of blue eyes met, one surprise, the other compassionate. "You talk about being alone like it's the best for you, but you don't buy that, not for a second. Because it means being away from people you actually care about. It means being away from Lyn"

Her hands tightened on her lap.

"Something happened to you" He stated, "The Namikaze teach how we are all together regardless of distance, but here you are, wanting to cut yourself off from everyone, even from your own clan. Why?"

Once again, Kya did not tell him.

"Is this why you have nightmares?" Her eyes widened in shock. "I saw you the other night, tossing and turning, you... looked like you were suffering"

Her hands shook; it did not go unnoticed by him.

He wanted to save her, like he had been saved. Family stood by one another no matter what; you didn't turn your back on them, even if they wanted to.

Kya stared at his hand, looking as though she was actually considering it.

He was just a child; he didn't know what he was talking about. What she went through...

 _Burning pain in her muscles, metal digging into her skin._

 _Dirt, grime, darkness, blood._

 _Two bodies, red pools forming around their broken forms_.

Betrayed... she had suffered because her family had been too trusting, and that trust had been rewarded with betrayal fueled by greed.

She let out a gasp, her chest thundering in her chest. She had sworn to never let anyone close again, to never give them the chance to betray them.

And yet... this wild maned red head burst into her life like a storm, unrelenting, so full of energy and so very wonderful.

Kya had allowed herself to trust again but it hurt. It hurt to do so. Even if she knew it was unfounded she still kept feeling that gnawing terror, reaching her heart with icy fingers. So often she was plagued with the nightmares... How could someone as broken as her ever made Lyn happy like she had made her feel?

Lyn didn't deserve that, she deserved someone who could give her an actual future... not someone like her. Who constantly pushed her away, who repaid her kindness with coldness.

Kya wanted... she wanted to stop feeling afraid whenever someone gave her the same kindness Lyn had gifted her. The same kindness Naruto was offering her. So, isolating herself seemed like the best option no? So people wouldn't have to deal with a mess of a person like her.

"I..."

 _Snap_ , went the sound of a branch.

Her words died in her mouth, eyes widening in surprise before sharpening. Standing up, her stance alarmed as her hand went for her sword on her back.

"W-What's wrong?"

"We're not alone"

Both soon felt their danger sense flare as they leapt away from a hail of senbon that would have turned them to pincushions. " **Watch the wire brat!** " Kurama bellowed as his host soon saw the nearly invisible steel wire coming for them. Out of reflex the young blond grabbed the older blond to duck down just moments where it would have reached her neck!

 _'I would have been gone in a heartbeat!_ ' Kya cursed her carelessness as both blond soon had their backs to one another with four figures coming out of the shaded foliage.

"Well, well..." A man with small eyes, long brunette hair and red marking on his face and chin remarked. "Two actual living Namikaze. You know how rare your clan is?" His tone malicious as was his smile. He wore hard leather over his clothes with a metal head gear. In his hand was an umbrella? "And a female one too. Guess we can have some fun tonight before selling her off."

Kya unconsciously let out a small growl before gazing at the remaining three. One was a towering man with an imposing build in simple clothes, his black hair in a ponytail and goatee. The next she wasn't sure was a man or woman with a feminine look with neck-length, light-blue hair held back by a purple hairband. The person wore purple shorts and a tank-top with orange armbands and boots. Finally was another man with short crop of brown spiky hair and small black eyes, and wears a white-clothed headband. He wore a green, armless robe with a yellow line coming down from the black collar.

Naruto paid close attention to the man who spoke and his umbrella; "You're from Ame."

"Good eye kid." The man quipped in a mocking manner; "Well, was anyways. We are the Shinobazu."

"Really?" Naruto said incredulously, "You actually named yourselves 'Dropouts'?" That earned him an angry growl for the leader of said missing Nins.

"How dare you barge into our clan's sacred grounds?" Kya spoke, anger and indignation rising in her voice, "What is it that you want?"

The man with face markings paced before the great tree, seizing it up and smiling greedily to himself. "A lot of things. Fame, money, power. Oh yeah" He placed a hand on it, feeling its rough bark. "Thanks to the thing trapped here, we'll hit the jackpot"

The Namikaze woman gasped, realizing his intention. "You... seek to release the demon?" Her fists tightened as they shook. "Fools! You have no idea what you're doing! Inside this tree lies a creature beyond your capacity to control!"

The large goateed man of the group gave his leader an uneasy look, "What if she's right, Shura? We were doing fine before, but releasing a demon seems way over our heads"

The man now named Shura gave his subordinate an angry glare. "When I want your opinion, Gantetsu, I'll ask for it" He reached into his pocket, pulling out a long folded seal tag. "We paid good money for this control seal in the black market, you can be sure the monster here will obey us"

"Oh hell no" Naruto snarled, taking a step forward. "You have another thing coming if you think we'll let you get away with it"

"Oh the brat has some spunk;" The feminine looking individual spoke with a male's voice. "We might be 'dropouts' kid, but we're a lot more seasoned than you are, genin"

The younger blond bristled before creating two crystal kunai in each hand. The move did not go unnoticed; "A bloodline limit. Looks like this kid is worth something after all." the man with the white-clothed headband addressed. "The black market has all kinds of uses for someone like you kid."

"You won't touch him" Kya growled in a surprisingly protective manner.

"Afraid you don't get a say in matter, lady. We're taking you, your brat, and the demon!" Shura grinned before giving orders; "Monju, Toki, deal with our lady. Try not to bruise her up too bad. Gantetsu, you got the kid!"

The androgynous individual and the man with white bandaged around his head grinned cruelly before leaping towards their targets. Gantetsu sighed to himself but ultimately obeyed.

Monju whipped his wires in all directions, creating a whirlwind of razor sharp metal that cut even through the ground. Kya and Naruto backed away to avoid the attack, but the from the air appeared Toki, in his right arm he summoned a large mechanical arm with claw-like fingers. With a raging cry he struck the ground between the Namikaze, causing it to burst upwards, the shockwave sending the two apart as earth and stone flew around in pieces.

Naruto regained his footing, skidding over the grass as he stopped. He looked up to see if Kya was okay, but all he saw before him was the large muscular form of Gantetsu standing before him.

"Sorry about this kid" He actually sounded sincere in his apology. "Ain't like this any more than you do" He said, popping his knuckles.

Naruto twirled his crystal kunai in his hand, "Oh yes, that makes it all better now" His voice dripped with sarcasm before he lunged at the big man.

Shura watched it all unfold with a wide smile before turning to the seals wrapped around the tree. "Finally... everyone will know my name"

Kya's eyes grew wide; "You fool!" As she attempted to go the leader her opponents got in her way.

"Sorry hun, you won't get passed us." Monju smirked maliciously.

More ropes were cut as Shura took note of a faint glow that came from the tags; _'The seal is breaking. Good.'_ He could feel his victory approaching, so sweet and enticing, beckoning him to achieve even greater things from here on own, with the demon under his command, no one would stop him.

The seals lost their shine the moment all the ropes were cut away, falling around the tree's trunk and over the ground. He held the sealing tag ready for when the demon would appear.

His smile slowly begun to fade when a minute passed... And nothing happened.

"The hell?!" The missing-nin hissed in growing frustration. "Where is the demon?" He paced, looking at the tree up and down. "The Namikaze confirmed there was a demon here!" He sharply turned, glaring at the older blonde, who glared back at him as his subordinates slowly cornered her. "Where is it?!"

Her intense gaze was the only reply.

"Oh you will give me what I want" Shure swore, his voice promising pain unless his demands were meant. "Because unless I get my demon, right this instant, you and that little brat will-!"

Blood burst from his mouth in a sudden cough, horrible pain piercing through his body.

Naruto and Gantetsu stopped fighting, looking at Shura in horror. Kya and the other two members of Shinobazu could only stare slack at what had just transpired.

Shura's pain addled mind could barely comprehend what was going on, his entire world was pain, a deep agony of the likes he's never felt before. He had been attacked, the damage such that his entire body was unresponsive, he couldn't feel his legs, yet somehow he was still standing.

Shakily looking down he found his answer, there was a giant root piercing his stomach.

He let out a shrill gasp, his lungs barely had enough air in them for him to properly express his pain. He felt as though his lifeforce slipped away from him with each passing second, literally sucked out of him,

"Oh my gods..." Toki muttered.

Before their very eyes, Shura's body shriveled, his skin becoming pale and wrinkle, the blood pouring from his wound receding. He looked as though he was being dried up.

"All this time" Kya muttered, her eyes quivering. "I thought our ancestors had sealed a demon in the tree, but I was wrong"

Shura's body was left as a carcass, a dry thing with skin clinging to his bones. The root swatted him away, and the corpse flailed through the air before tumbling down the hill.

"The demon IS the tree..."

The hill rumbled, and the earth ripped open to reveal more and more roots emerging.

 **"A Jubokko..."** Kurama snarled.

 _'A vampire tree?!'_ Naruto heard about them from some stories from Iruka-Sensei.

 **"If you value the life of that woman, brat, get her out of here! Let it feed on these fools and go!"**

Kya's danger senses screamed as she leapt out of the way from several roots shot out from the ground towards her. Sadly her opponents did not move in time. Both howled as their bodies were pierced by multiple roots.

"Monju! Toki!" Regardless of his feelings on how their group had become these were still Gantetsu's comrades! None of them deserved to die like this. He watched in horror as they shared the fate of Shura as their bodies soon became nothing but skin on bones. "NO!"

The towering man tried go for them but a wall of crystal rose from the ground as Naruto grunted with several limbs of the tree hitting it. "That won't hold forever!" He yelled as Kya ran over to him. "How do we kill this thing?!"

Kya's eyes shifted as she quickly tried to recall the knowledge she had on this particular type of yokai. Her eyebrows disappeared into her hairline as she came upon a realization. "The core! Jubbokos have a heart-like core where they store all the blood they drain! If we don't destroy the core it'll keep regenerating!"

"Well where is it?!" Naruto shouted, the crystal wall starting to show cracks.

"A jubboko is able to move it around its roots swiftly, and given its size and age then..." She stopped, slowly looking down at the ground. "It must be all the way inside the hill"

 **"Oh that is just fantastic..."** Kurama grumbled.

The ground beneath began to rumble, the older Namikaze quickly shoved him out of the way. "Look out!" As more vine-like roots emerged, moving like tendrils as they sought their nearest victims. Kya quickly drew her sword and with a slash she cut the roots down. Blood poured forth as though this was a being of flesh rather than bark.

The tree itself heaved and groaned, emitting a sound akin to an inhuman roar.

The earth crumbled and tore apart as large roots began to drag themselves out, the hill was quickly becoming alive. Naruto jumped away from a pair of roots that speared towards him at great speed. He summoned multiple shruiken made of crystals, the weapons hitting the roots and making them recoil like they actually felt pain.

He landed on the ground and through a series of handsigns, invoked a great crystalline dragon construct. His technique soared as it struck a mass of emerging roots, tearing them to blood pieces before they could come close.

"Come on!" Kya was beside him before glaring over to Gantetsu; "Leave before you share your comrades' fate!" She soon cursed as several wooden tendrils come for her and Naruto who duck and dodge wildly. Her sword danced with wind chakra as she sliced through several more roots.

Once more the tree let out a roar, but now of anger. Its attacks grew in fervor as now all three were avoiding its attacks.

Naruto swore as he kept moving as the ground was cracked and roots shot for him. _'Can this thing harm the fish village?!'_ He questioned his Bijuu was he went on the offensive.

 **"Depends on how old this tree is. But why risk your neck out for them? They are not from your village."**

 _'I don't give a damn where they are from! If those people are in danger I'll stop this thing!'_ Kurama only scoffed; _'you told me you fought evil right!? Why not act like it!'_ His eyes flew wide; "KYA!"

Said buxom blond dodged several tendrils while slashing threw more, so focused on what was in front of her she missed the ground behind her moving. "KYA!" Naruto's voice rang out she turned to see a root lunge for her. She had no time to move, but instead of running her through. The blood left her face as the tendrils bore into Naruto!

Naruto coughed up blood as the tendril pierced the left side of his abdomen. Kurama immediately began focusing his chakra on that area to speed up Naruto's regeneration before the tree could suck him dry. As things began to become blurry before his eyes, a figure tore the root apart with bare hands.

He looked up in surprise to see Gantetsu, his hands bloodied with the tree's blood. "Sorry about this" Naruto let out a cry of pain as the missing-nin removed the piece of root still stuck inside him, letting Kurama work faster.

"Naruto!" Kya was immediately to his side, getting on one knee to be at eye level as she placed her free hand on his shoulder, he had never seen her this scared before. "Are you okay?"

"I'll be fine..." He said before letting out a wet cough.

Gantetsu wildly looked around them, the damn tree just wasting letting up, the entire hill was becoming a alive with the monster's awakening. Roots and bark kept emerging, and there was no sign of them stopping...

"We need to get out of here!" He warned the others.

"But we can't let the jubboko run wild!" Kya shouted back.

"There's nothing we can do right now!" He lifted Naruto, who was too wounded to walk, in his arms. "Hurry!"

The Namikaze woman spared one last hurried look at the writhing tree, and then at the wounded Naruto in the missing-nin's arms, he's chest rising and falling with effort, the blood still pouring forth from his wound. No... She couldn't risk his life.

"Then let's go!"

And so they run as fast their legs could take them, a sea of living roots chasing after them. They descended down the steps of the hill, but no matter how much distance they put between them and the demonic tree, the creature was determined to not let them escape.

It wasn't until they reached the foot of the hill that they stopped, the cause being a loud sound of mystical energy along with a flare of chakra assaulting their senses. Turning back sharply they saw a golden barrier halting the tree's advance, a shining array manifesting on the ground around the hill. The vines and roots struck the barrier, but this one held, causing ripples like water upon the surface where they impacted.

"A seal?" Gantetsu muttered.

"A last defense mechanism in case the jubboko broke free" Kya said in realization, attentively walking closer to the barrier. "My ancestors must have placed it here as a last ditch effort" No doubt the sealing barrier extended into the earth and not just the terrain around the hill, as to properly contain vampire tree.

"Will it hold?"

Inspecting the barrier closer, she could see the sealing array glaring intensity each time the roots struck, the constant attack and pressure from the jubboko was straining the barrier.

Kya bit back a swear, "Not indefinitely"

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

Gantetsu could see the now once life threatening wound in the boy's stomach close as they ran down the steps. He spoke not a word as they made a good distance away from the shrine. They stop under a large canopy of trees as the towering man sat Naruto on his feet. "I can only guess how that wound healed so fast."

The young blond said nothing as he grunted out of soreness as Kya knelt to him; "What were you thinking?!" Her normal calm monotone replaced with anger mixed with genuine concern as her hands rested on his shoulders. "You could have died!"

"You were in trouble, you protect your family." Naruto remarked weakly as both stared at each other.

Gantetsu sat under a tree; "You have a good son."

"Naruto's not my son." The older Namikaze glance in his direction. "And I don't want to hear a damn thing from you given what your group had done. The only reason I am sparing your life at the moment is because you saved my cousin." Her words full of steely heat. Shock etched in the younger blond's eyes. She actually called him cousin...

 **"Well this is a delightful mess..."** Both adults blinked as a deep male voice spoke up beside Naruto. Both peered back the young teen as a small red furred fox appeared on Naruto's shoulder; **"Did you indulge your hero obsession for the day, brat? It nearly got us killed!"** The deep voice coming from the tiny fox who berated Naruto.

"Says the surly asshole who _CLAIMS_ he's a not a bad guy." The younger blond growled back as he sat down on the ground.

"Um, okay. Who is this?" The missing-nin muttered, squinting at the small fox.

"It can't..." Kya stammered, struggling to find the words. "Naruto, is that the Nine-Tailed Fox?"

"Uhhhhh" No way out of this, the younger blonde decided the best he could do was be upfront about it. "Yeah, we kind of have a deal"

"Nine-Tailed-?!" Gantetsu seemed to choke on his own breath, "You mean to tell me you're a jinchuuriki?!"

"Pretty much" The Uzumaki shrugged, not thinking much of it.

"...I should have stayed in bed" The bandit decided, no longer having the energy to question anything about this horrible day.

The sage in training gave the fox a long scrutinizing look, to which the bijuu barely paid any mind to. "We'll talk about that later" She said in a tone that broke no arguments, "Right now, we need to come up with a way to destroy the jubboko"

"You seem to know a lot about it" The large man pointed out, "Any ideas?"

She gave him a disbelieving look. "You want to help?" She stood up; walking up to the much taller man, though the size difference somehow wasn't an obstacle for Kya to stare him down. "After what you did? I don't even want to imagine all the lives you've helped ruin"

For what felt like a short eternity, the man remained silent, his eyes growing wary, conflicted, and finally remorseful. "I've done so many bad things in my life... I'm tired, I'm so tired of it all" He said, his voice becoming raspy, the tone on his voice thick with emotion. "The people I've hurt, I've seen them every time I go to bed... I can't live like this, not anymore" He looked into her blue eyes pleadingly. "And now I've unleashed a terrible evil upon this world, something that will hurt more people than I ever have... Please, let me make amends. I swear I want to make things right, to atone for all I did"

Kya's eyes only narrowed, she did seem to believe his words, or rather, she didn't want to.

 **"Tch"** Kurama distracted them with that sound of displeasure he made. **"Hmph, humans like you always annoy me, I can't make heads or tails out of you"** At the questioning and suspicious look he got from the two human adults, he clarified. **"You clearly have done evil that much I can feel in you and yet... I can't feel evil in your heart"** Gantetsu only looked wide eyed; **"Your comrades were another story."** Kurama finished as he leapt off Naruto's shoulder.

At that the taller man grunted; "Shura was always bastard. Monju and Toki used to be good people..." Part of him knew that wasn't really true, but he had known those two since their time as ninja of Ame.

A long sigh escaped Kya as she paced, with minor glances to Kurama who stared where the vampire tree was. "We got to destroy that tree." Naruto remarked. He garnered a sharp look from his fellow Namikaze; "Hey I'm fine now, sore but fine. You can thank Kurama for that."

 **"Do not use my name so casually around others brat."** the fox growled with a quip. **"And that tree isn't as dumb as that ogre you and Ms. Broody here dealt with."**

Semi-sentient most likely, clever enough to use sneak attacks Kya had to admit. "What re our options?" She turned to the Bijuu who cocked a brow.

 **"Run, or blow up the hill."** Kurama did not mince words as he bluntly explained.

"...I don't have enough explosive tags for something that big." Naruto murmured numbly. His eyes slowly peered over to the fox that dryly looked back.

 **"You can't handle more tails of my power yet."** Granted he only need two realistically but the old Kitsune wasn't going to make it easy for them. **"And the jubboko's core must be deep in the hill"** Kurama reminded them, **"Destroying the area will be the only way to reach it"**

"Overkill, but not like we have much of a choice" Naruto had to agree. They didn't know how long those seals would hold, and he didn't want to think about what the creature would do to the village nearby. Hell, would the tree affect the other trees in the area? Could it perhaps expand?

In a land called the Land of Forests that was very bad.

"Yeah, but where are we going to pull that power from?" Gantetsu asked with a shrug of his shoulders. "If you can't, and I certainly can't, then there's nothing any of us can do"

"...Yes there is" Kya spoke, her voice suddenly focused. Filled with determination like Naruto hadn't heard from her before. In her eyes shined a sense of duty, an intensity in her gaze that came from the drive to follow your own dreams and ideals. A feeling Naruto was intimately familiar with. "Because to stop this demon, I will achieve Senjutsu this day"

In the cloudy skies above, thunder roared.

"Senjutsu?" Gantetsu repeated.

 **"If you can channel enough natural energy that will give you a great boost"** Kurama said, considering their options. **"The question is; can you do it?"**

"I know I can" She spoke with conviction, "I finally understand why I've never achieved it before. It all lead to this day, to finish what our ancestors couldn't" It was like she had stumbled upon a deep realization that had cleared all doubts from her mind. All those years trying, all those failed attempts, it was meant for this day and this alone.

This was her fate, she was finally certain.

Naruto flashed her that toothy grin of his, "I've faith in you"

Kya nodded his way, "I'll need a few minutes to meditate to achieve Sage Mode. Wait for me here"

They watched her walk away for a few feet until she reached a small clearing in the middle of the forest where a thin river ran by, feeling the area properly, trying to get in tuned with nature around her.

Looking up to the sky, Kya saw the clouds weren't going away, the thunder kept roaring faintly, and already she could feel a small drops of rain fall on her skin. But she paid it no mind; in fact, she used it to feel connected with all the aspects of nature. The earth at her feet, the air around him, the water falling from the sky.

Her arms slowly spread in a flowing motion, her feet dragging themselves softly over the grass as she shifted between poses similar to martial arts' forms. Her movements were graceful, gentle like a calm river stream. She reached out to the world around her with her chakra, feeling every bit of life. The trees, the animals, even the air itself was alive, she felt it in every drop of rain that touched her mocha skin.

Kya no longer feared failure; for she was sure this was her time at long last. The promise she made to her parents' souls, the desire to honor her ancestors. It was finally within her grasp.

At last, she could be whole.

She felt the nature chakra around her, vibrant, powerful, and balanced. In it was all she ever wanted, she reached out to it with her chakra, pulling it forth towards her, welcoming it with all her soul.

She felt it enter through her nostrils and into her lungs, through her skin and muscles, flowing through her pathways and into her cores.

 _'Yes...'_ She thought with satisfaction. She was doing it; at long last she was doing it!

Nature and her were one, just like she always dreamt of.

 _'Father, mother, I did it'_ She couldn't help smile, _'At last, your daughter is...'_

The nature chakra slowly leaked out of her.

 _'No!'_ Her brow furrowed deeply as she struggled to keep the energy inside her. It wasn't her body rejecting the chakra, nor was it having a negative reaction to it like happened many unprepared would-be sages. No, the chakra was simply leaving her body as though she... she...

She wasn't worthy.

 _'No, please gods I beg you'_ She desperately reached out to the unseen, praying not to take this from him. _'It's all I have left, this promise I made, the path I set for myself, this is my purpose, the whole meaning of my life, please no!'_

The last traces of natural energy left her body, leaving her feeling empty and so very much alone. And once again she was a little girl, alone, broken...

Her blue eyes snapped open, her breath was ragged, desperation, confusion, anger and sadness mixing inside her in a whirlwind of powerful emotions, so strong she couldn't stop the tears from running down her cheeks.

"No!" She shouted to the skies. "I've done everything I could to honor my clan, I-I've suffered so much, lost too much, and I'm still not worthy?!" Through suffering came enlightenment, and yet it was all for nothing...

The skies had no answers for her, only unintelligible roars of thunder while the rain kept falling. The cold drops mixing with her warm salty tears.

Kya let out a wail of despair. The feeling of failure striking right through her heart, her mind assaulted by the memories of all the suffering she had felt in her life. The days in that dark place, the pain searing her body, the bodies of her parents on pools of their own blood...

And now, she finally understood, there was no salvation for her, nothing that could make her whole again, and nothing that could take this pain away.

She was condemned to live with it for the rest of her days.

Kya fell to her knees, clutching to her head as she wept.

Naruto felt his own heart ache as he looked at her, finally witnessing all the pain Kya felt inside, succumbing to it rather than letting it out.

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

When her cries ceased, Naruto convinced a very defeated Kya to seek shelter with them. They found a small cave not far from the hill, though large enough for them to sit inside in relative comfort as they waited for the rain to pass. All the while Kya's gaze was lifeless, lost, empty, it was that of a person who no longer had anything to give their life meaning.

"...I think it's best to warn the village, maybe they can evacuate in time" Gantetsu decided, standing up and heading outside. "I'll be back soon" Truth was, he felt a very private family affair was about to unfold, and he had no place in it. It was best to give them privacy.

Kurama sat on a rock beside Naruto who glanced at the kitsune; _'What happened?'_ He spoke mentally to the Bijuu.

Said Bijuu was kind enough to respond back telepathically; **"Something very simple. But as you humans say, emotions are complicated. You'll figure it out."** With that Kurama's mini form vanished.

Cerulean turned back to Kya who remained motionless, staring at the wall with a lifeless gaze. The younger blond came over, sat in front of her. He said nothing as he was honestly unsure what to say to help his fellow Namikaze. "Nature rejected me again..." Kya whispered in an almost inaudible tone. "I'm not worthy to become a sage like our ancestors."

"Doesn't mean you should give up..." Kya's lifeless eyes turned to him.

Naruto awkwardly shifted as buxom blond only stared at him for a full minute in silence. "The gods say otherwise... I have been attempting Senjutsu since I was fifteen. And for seventeen years I've achieved nothing..." The hollow defeat in her voice was painful to hear.

Everything she has done amounted to nothing... she broke Lyn's heart for this? Tears rimed Kya's eyes. "I truly am a worthless bitch. I never deserved Lyn from the beginning." Not with all the years of kindness she gave, and Kya returned none.

"Bullshit!" Naruto rebuked with fury.

The older Namikaze barely reacted to his outburst; her eyes merely stared at him lifelessly. "Yeah, you may not open up to people, and you go out of your way to be alone. But in the short time we've traveled together I found out more about you than you imagine. You say you want to be 'detached' or some crap, but truth is that you don't, because you actually care about the people around you, just like you care about our clan"

It wasn't hard to miss the looks of sadness whenever she spoke about Lyn or the longing when she saw families, friends, and close people just being there for each other.

"I think I figured you out" He said, his voice growing softer. "You don't want to be alone because you think being with others holds you back; you want to be alone because you don't believe you're worth being with other people"

For a moment, neither said anything.

He watched as Kya's gaze sparked, no longer lifeless, but still so very much filled with pain. "I... am broken" She seethed, her voice suddenly raspy. "Not a day goes by in which I don't think about everything I've endured, the things I've lost. I feel this... anger, this pain!" She tightly pressed a hand against her chest. "I've tried to let it go, I've tried to move on, but nothing ever helps, nothing! Not even... not even falling in love with Lyn" The tears run free once more. "It all comes back to 'it', over and over again, not even my dreams are free from it"

"...What happened to you?"

Kya's face grimaced for a moment, before letting out a long tired sigh, her back straightening against the cave's wall. "As a child, I lived in a small village, with my parents. The village was very poor, but we were happy. We wanted nothing, we were content with our lot in life, I was raised to honor our clan, always listening to stories told by my father and mother" There was a brief shine of happiness in her eyes, the remnants of a time long gone. "We didn't have any 'secret techniques', no sources of power that ninjas are always salivating over... But that didn't stop the villagers, tired of their constant struggles with poverty, from selling us out to ninjas"

Time slowed for the younger blond as shock etched on his eyes. "Villages like Kumo or Iwa would pay good money for getting a Namikaze. Usually going out to smaller villages to get them so other nations wouldn't suspect. But in my family's case, we were met with missing Nin turned slavers." Her voice was heavy, full of emotion; "My parents weren't warriors. They never held a weapon in their lives but they tried to fight back. I remember my father screaming for my mother to take me and run. She did, but the villagers cornered us. Held us down as she begged for them to let us go. They just wanted their money like it could solve all their problems…"

Naruto felt like he wanted to throw up. An entire village sold out a family just for money!? He knew some villages like Nami had it very bad. But to go that far...

"Then came the torture. Day in and day out, all of us were tortured, beaten. 'Conditioning' their leader called it." Kya murmured darkly. "...My parents died right in front of me, they made me watch..." She went silent. "For what felt like an eternity all I knew was a dark cell, beatings, and lashes." Kya raised up the sleeve of her clothed arm, the one she always kept covered with her long sleeve. Scars, many scars littered her arm.

"They kept torturing me, every day, until I would finally give them something, any clan secrets that could benefit them, when there was nothing to give..." It was like a shadow had been casted over her eyes, "Night after night when they went to sleep I practiced my wind affinity, until day I was strong enough to cut the metal which they cuffed me with, and when they were asleep... I killed them" She spat with a mixture of rage and sick satisfaction. "I killed them all"

Naruto remained silent, Kya did not even need to be prompted to continue, the flood gates weren't open and there was no closing them.

"I ran" She sobbed, "I and never looked back, trying to escape the pain, the nightmares that plagued me. Shutting myself from the world, never letting other people get close, I couldn't, not after the village sold us like slaves" She sniffed, pawning at her eye. "Lot of good it did to me, nothing ever filled this... this hole in my heart. I thought that if I became a sage like our ancestors, I'd finally be at peace. I could finally move one from what happened to my parents"

Naruto pursed his lips, "And then you met Lyn"

The tiniest of smiles graced her lips, finding joy and comfort in the memory of the woman she so clearly loved but never had the guts to tell her. "She was like the sun, illuminating the world just by being there. I tried to resist it, to not open myself again because I was afraid. But Lyn" She let out a breathy laugh, "She has that way of worming her way into your life. Being with her, I... I was happy... and it terrified me"

It terrified her because that one fear always lingered. ' _What if she betrays me like the village'_. That damnable fear had gripped her heart and never let go. Despite the fact she did not know in her heart Lyn never would, nor would Saito and the others. But her fear refused to let up, and that made it worse. To be so certain she was safe with those people, but at the same time that there was always this little voice in her mind whispering such horrible things in her ear…

Because if she opened her heart. Just one inch, the image of her beaten and broken parents in the slaver's prison always appeared in her mind. Thus she never opened her heart. To anyone...

Naruto had seem to pick up on her fear; "Did you really think Lyn would have ever betray you?"

"I knew she wouldn't." Kya's voice broke as she spoke with torment; "She'd never do such a thing. But-" She covered her mouth as not to say it.

"Go on" Naruto gently insisted

"...But she deserved better than me"

Lyn had given her heart, and what did she do with it? Reject it...

The younger blonde took a deep breath, letting it go slowly in exhaustion. "You have scars, and they're bad, I get it. But you're not broken, Kya, you're worth people looking out for you"

She snorted humorlessly, "Why would you think that?"

"Because that's not up to you" He replied firmly, "It's the other people who decide if they want to care for you. And you know what? They already have. Lyn of course does. Uncle Saito, uncle Samenosuke, they respect you enough that they waited for you to open up to them instead of telling me"

Her eyes slowly met his.

"And I care for you too" He pressed a hand firmly against his chest, "Because no matter how many walls you put up, how much distance you take, I'll always think of you as family, whether you like it or not" He grinned widely, "You're stuck with us, because people love you!"

Her lips slowly parted, her eyes quivering as she tried to process his words. Despite how cold and uncaring she had been to him, he still...

Lyn had never pressured her; she had always been there to make her days brighter. To draw smiles from her even when the world around her seemed cruel and unforgiving. Lyn wanted to make her smile because she loved her that much. Just like Naruto wanted to let her know she would never be alone, neither by choice or circumstance.

Not because he was kin, but because he saw her pain and wanted to help her shoulder it.

It made her feel ashamed, all this time she had pushed people away when all they wanted to do was help. But she had been too afraid, too stubborn to even see it.

Her gaze went down to the hole in his clothes, the blood had dried and stained the area where he received that blow from her, all to protect her...

Kya's gaze hardened, such that it surprised Naruto by their intensity. She stood up and walked out of the cave and into the rain.

"Woah, what are you doing?"

"I'm going to make things right" She promised.

She stood beneath the rain, letting it pour upon her without paying it any mind. She spread her arms and legs in gentle wave like motions once more.

And reached out.

 _'This is not about me'_ She thought, her eyes closed as she sought the world around, feeling its energy.

The natural chakra was still strong and vibrant; she drew it forth, letting it come into contact with her in body and soul.

 _'This is not about my desires'_

Once more the chakra began to enter her pathways and core; it felt warmth, fulfilling, and calm. But there was still wildness to it; the side of nature that could refuse to be tamed.

So she calmed it.

 _'I need this power not to erase my fears'_

She welcomed it.

 _'Not for selfish reasons anymore'_

She embraced it, like an old friend.

 _'But because... I want to protect him!'_

And then... she mastered it.

The rain around her began to stop, and before Naruto's widening eyes he saw many droplets froze around Kya, as thought they had been stopped by some invisible forth.

 **"Ahhh can you feel it?"** Kurama spoke, observing the situation with great interest. **"There it is, senjutsu"**

Kya's motions continued, flowing like the wind, letting the world itself move through her as she moved in it. The natural energy inside her mingled with her own in a balanced and controlled dance.

She slowly brought her feet and hands together, letting out a long breath. The essence of nature itself going in and out through her lungs. Kya felt powerful, like never before in her life. Something inside her had changed, to the point it even manifested in her body as tribal markings formed around her face in intrinsic patterns.

 **"She is a Sage"** The fox announced without a drop of uncertainty.

The wind itself danced and flowed around her as her eyes opened. Her blue orbs glowed for a fraction of a second as she gazed back to Naruto who stared in awe. A serene smiled graced her lips. A smile so pure, warmth, no words could describe how beautiful it was. He walked over to her as the storm itself began to pass.

"Awesome." He muttered as he now felt the energy coming off of her. It was like she was different person! This was Senjutsu?! "How do you feel?"

Kya looks at her hands; "I... I can't put it to words. I feel so alive." Her voice was full of reverence and joy. "And ready to stop the Jubokko." Certainty rung in her voice.

 **"Do you know a jutsu that can completely annihilate such a beast?"** Kurama's voiced his question as he appeared on Naruto's shoulder. **"It will keep its heart constantly on the move through it body. You would have to obliterate the entire hill to ensure it is gone."**

Kya grimaced as he did not have any skill that could destroy something in such a manner. And as much as she did not trust the Bijuu she knew no one else who might know what can work; "What can we do?"

 **"You're asking for my help human?"**

Naruto looked at him; "Show me you're not the bad guy you keep going on about."

 **"I am not here to solve all of your problems"** The fox retorted. **"She has Senjutsu, I don't know for how long she can keep that state but if you're smart you can figure it out"**

The jinchuuriki grunted in annoyance, "You don't have anything that could kill it, Kya?"

"I literally JUST achieved senjutsu, Naruto. I haven't made any techniques designed for raw destruction. And I'm not about to attempt something that will most likely get me killed because of my lack of experience with Sage Mode" Kya rubbed her chin in thought, "If I could channel this natural energy into an attack without risking my own body, then it's certainly doable. But as it is…"

Naruto felt a lightbulb turn on inside his head. "Can it be a pure chakra attack?" He quickly asked.

"It... could work yes" The older Namikaze slowly replied. "I can channel the natural energy into it to make it stronger"

"We can use my Rasengan!" He said with a large smile, "I'll keep it formed; you just pump it full of nature juice and BOOM!"

Crude way of explaining it aside, it could certainly work. But; "Are you sure you'll be able to keep it steady?" She asked in concern, "Naruto, I'll be channeling as much nature chakra as I can, the Rasengan will grow both in size and power, making it very unstable and harder to maintain"

"Kind of like the Odama Rasengan mom and Ero-Sennin had showed me."

 **"Would be like when you infused it with my chakra."** Kurama quipped.

Kya cemented how serious this was "We only get one shot at this."

Naruto looked at her and then to Kurama; "We will do this." His tone steely as his eyes shone with determination.

The Bijuu remained quiet as he begun to vanish; **"Show me."**

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* * *

The skies above were still cloudy but rays of sunlight came through in small sections. Naruto and Kya had dashed back to the step that led up to the shrine. They heard an inhuman roar as they saw tendrils of wood slamming into the seal barrier. "Our ancestor didn't mess around." the younger mused.

"Uzumakis aren't the only ones good at seals." Kya remarked as she stared up the hill; "Are you ready Naruto?"

"Damn right" Naruto said confidently as he bit into his thumb, drawing blood. He slammed his hand on the ground as a blast of smoke appeared, Hien's older brother, the brown scaled Jian appeared. His serpentine eyes quickly took in his sudden surroundings before looking over Naruto.

"Good to see you, kid" He floated before him and Kya, "What do you need?"

"Can you fly us over the hill?" At the dragon's nod, he continued. "We're gonna be dropping from the air and blow that monster up the hill to smithereens"

"I love everything you just said" The brown dragon replied cheerfully, earning an eye roll from Kya. Though his enthusiasm for the plan didn't stop him from tilting his head quizzically. "But why though?"

"There's a demon tree there. We need to kill it"

"Okay... you realize I can breathe FIRE right?"

"I doubt it would do much help" Kya replied, "It's a jubboko, its core must be deep inside the hill. Plus, this is the Land of Forests, any fire we start here risks spreading beyond our capacity to contain"

"Oh!" Jian's eyes widened in understanding. "I see, yes burning it would be a temporary solution at best. And the Land of Forests you said? Great Ryujin, if that thing manages to spread and infect the rest of the trees here..."

"Then it'll become forest wide monster that will swallow entire villages on its path"

Jian cringed; "Yeah that would suck." His mood brightened again; "Alright get on you two! Whatever have planned go for it!"

Both blonds got onto the dragon's back as he shot upwards into the sky. Naruto could stop the cheer that escaped his lips as they flew like the wind. Kya hid the small smirk hearing her younger fellow Namikaze before turning serious. "Naruto." He looked over to her; "Start your jutsu!"

"Got it." Lifting up his free hand, his father's signature jutsu came to life in his palm. Kya reached over and held his wrist as she begun to transfer some nature chakra into his Rasengan.

Naruto's eyes shot open as he felt pure energy flow into his arm. There was no describing in words what he felt, as if pure life itself was entering him. The result spoke for itself as the Rasengan begun to grow, and grow... Jian whistled as he felt the power coming from them. "Oh Hien is going to love hearing about this!"

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On the ground Gantetsu had just returned to see the two Namikaze's and a dragon fly up into the sky. He had convinced the villagers to flee to a safe place as they heard the roar from the jubboko. Once in a safe place he had run back to see what he could do to help. Shock etched on his eyes as he saw ball of pure chakra rival the size of a bolder. It glowed a pure white as it spun like a drill.

He looked back to the hill as he could see the crack forming on the barrier seal. "Whatever they are planning they better do it fast!"

Both blonds leapt off Jian. They fell towards the great demonic tree, the creature heaving and emitting roaring-like sounds from bark breaking and reshaping, it sent dozens of roots towards them at great speed, but they were reduced to bloody chunks before their combined technique.

Even at their distance, he could still hear them call out its name.

" _Sage Style; Rasengan_!"

The attack struck the tree, and then, there was light, noise and tremors everywhere.

Gantetsu shielded his face, feeling the wind pick up violently, he planted his feet firmly on the ground but the shockwave was too strong and was sent flying backwards with a cry.

The energy of the Rasengan, the pure nature chakra Kya had overcharged it with, exploded in a great sphere of energy that tore the earth to pieces, digging further and further, flattening the hill and tearing any and all of the jubboko's roots.

At the heart of the hill, beat a heart-like core made of vines, filled with the blood of hundreds it had drank throughout the years. It sought to escape through its great network of roots, but no place was safe, the energy of the technique was destroying everything around it, turning the hill upon it had rested for so long into a crater.

The growing energy reached it, and the jubboko's heart was torn asunder, nothing of it remained.

Gantetsu grunted as he hit a tree with his back and landed on the ground. Despite the pain he gazed up to see what he could describe as a miniature moon, only half the size of their normal one sat on the hill. He could hear the sound of drilling almost being deafening as the tree and shrine was obliterated.

"Oh hell yeah!" Jian roared in cheer as he watched from above. "I love this kid!"

Within a blink the giant Rasengan faded with only a gaping crater to remain. Lying inside it were both an exhausted Naruto and Kya, whose Sage markings had faded. But not the warmth and brightness in her heart as she only smiled up to the sky. "That...was awesome." Naruto murmured breathlessly.

"Yes. It was..."

"Shame about the shrine though. Any other Namikaze shrines like this?"

At that Kya snorted, which only made Naruto chuckle. Slowly the older blond begun the same as both soon laughed brightly. This was the scene Gantetsu found while Jian flew back down with a smile; "Can't wait to tell the others about this!" He glanced to the towering human who looked wide eyed at him; "Sup!"

The missing-nin took a moment to gather his bearings, approaching them. "You're a crazy kid"

"Thanks!" Naruto replied with gratitude.

He let out a short relieved line laugh "So, it's over then" He looked at the wide creator; there was no sign of the damn tree still remaining. No bloodthirsty roots emerging to drain their blood, nothing.

"It's over" Kya assured him, slowly sitting up as she took a deep breath.

Gantetsu shook his head, letting out a weary sigh. "Shura, what were you thinking?" Steeling himself, he looked at the two Namikaze. "I can't ask for your forgiveness enough, but I want to promise you both, I'll make amends for my sins"

"What will you do?" Naruto asked him.

"Lots of villages that need help in this country" The large man replied with small smile. "Maybe I can finally do something good in my life by protecting them from whatever threatens them"

"It is a long, arduous road, redemption" Kya said, her voice even and non-judgmental. "Are you truly up for it?"

"It wouldn't be easy if it wasn't worth it" Gantetsu said, his smile becoming wider, more invigorated and hopeful. "Farewell, Namikaze heirs, I know you'll do great things to honor your clan, like you did today"

The towering man soon left as Jian flew over to help Naruto his feet, Kya slowly got up as well, giving her young cousin a long look. The former coldness of her eyes long gone, replaced with a caring warmth "Thank you, Naruto." Her remark surprised him before being engulfed in a tight hug. She couldn't fully convey what she felt with words alone, so she let her actions do the talking.

Said young Jinchurriki was greatly surprised by the act but returned the hug; "This is nice"

"Don't get used to it"

He couldn't help but laugh at her reply. _'So how was that?'_ He asked Kurama who snorted back but said nothing more.

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* * *

The sun shone brightly as all the storm clouds had faded. Bidding Jian farewell the two blonds went back to the fishing village where they were met the by the village leader and elder. Both thanked them for stopping the vampire tree from destroying their village and killing their people. They were offered some money, food, and place for the night.

While both turned down the money so village could use it for what they needed, they had also remarked they had to return to Konoha. Around them the villagers thanked them which still made Kya a little uneasy. But more bearable with Naruto who took the cheer with gusto.

Her heart stopped for a moment as her gaze found him, there he was again, the old man… His name long since escaped her memory, she had been very young back then. But his face was familiar, if much older than last time she had seen it. He had not aged gently, given by the many, many wrinkles on his face, the bangs under his eyes, how pale his hair had gotten.

The villagers muttered amongst themselves, a few backing away slowly, feeling a confrontation inevitable.

The old man's lips trembled as he looked at her, his eyes shone with… shame?

"I… I know you. Kya" He said with a trembling voice. "I knew you parents, Hakoda and Taiya"

Kya remained silent.

"We, the village… we betrayed them" His whole body was shaking.

"Grandfather?" A brunette teenage young woman came close to the man muttered in confusion.

He ignored her, broken sobs soon escaped his lips and before Kya's widening eyes, he fell to his knees and bowed in supplication before her, pressing his head against the ground.

"We sold you, like cattle!" He wailed, regret and despair evident in his voice. "For money, because the village had been struggling for so long! I… I know that is no excuse, everyone there knew what we were doing…"

Naruto look from the man on the ground to Kya, he expected to find anger and hate, looking upon one of the people who had been responsible for all her pain, but instead he found pity.

"It all got worse after we took that cursed money, the fields became even poorer, every year we were assaulted by a new plague. We knew what it was…" He managed to speak in between the tears of remorse. "It was karma, the Gods punishing us for our sins"

Kya slowly approached the man.

"The village had to be abandoned in the end, there was no living there anymore. And I… I ran from there, from what we did, trying to forget it all, but I couldn't, it haunts me dreams to this day!"

She stopped before the old man, who looked up to her with a tear stained face.

"I'm sorry…" He wept, "I'm so sorry! Please, I beg you!" His body shook by the intensity of his sobbing. "Forgive me!"

The crowd could only stare in shock at what was transpiring before them, many looked at the mocha skin woman, concerned by what she would do, many taking notice of the katana in her back, afraid she might use it.

But Naruto knew Kya would never do something like that, instead, she let her words do justice.

"What you seek… is not something I can give you" She softly replied, much to the bowing man's surprise. "The pain will not go away, even if I give you my forgiveness, because you will still be haunted by your actions. You will not move on… until you allow yourself to do so"

The old man could only stare at her in silence.

"It took me far too long to realize that" She shook her head, "But the truth is, our ghosts haunt us because we make them haunt us. If you seek to be rid of them, you must find redemption on your own path. Just like I had learn my own path was filled with the pain I myself had placed there" She knelt before the old man, "You do not need my forgiveness, you need your own"

The old sniffed, mouth trembling as he prompted himself to his knees, old haunted eyes staring wide at blue eyes that once held pain like they did, but now were free.

"I intend to move on from what happened to me" She bowed her head gently, closing her eyes. "I hope you do as well" Kya stood up, beckoning Naruto to follow, "Come, Naruto"

Her cousin silently complied, and the two begun to leave the village. He turned his head back to see the old man, still weeping as his granddaughter kneeled next to him, holding him tightly. He kept looking back until the trees blocked his view.

"Do you hate him?" He sincerely asked Kya.

"I have not forgotten what he and the other villagers did" Kya admitted, "But I prefer to live my life without that pain plaguing me anymore, that means letting go of my anger"

"You really hope he too moves on"

"I wouldn't wish what I felt on anyone" She merely replied.

Naruto slowly nodded to himself, "Don't know if I could if something like that happened to me"

"Everyone's circumstances are different, Naruto" Kya explained, "I know my path now, and honestly" She gently smiled at him, "I feel I can be much happier this way"

The young blonde smiled, in the end that was all that mattered. "So, back to Konoha then?"

"Yes…" Her eyes shone at the thought, "Let's go home"

Back to Lyn, where she belonged.

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* * *

 _ **Hope you enjoyed!**_


	40. Setting the stage

**Disclaimer** : We do not own Naruto

 **Co-author and Beta** : Etheral-23

 _ **Reference**_ : **"To anyone still wondering. We are NOT following the canon anymore. A few filler episodes or one of the movies might pop up but they will be altered to fit our narrative."**

 **Chapter 40: Setting the stage**

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For once it seemed to be a relatively quiet day on the Uzumaki household. Karin sat in the couch reading a rather interesting book on botany by the First Hokage, while her uncle Saito sat next to her reading his own book; 'On the care of swords' by Tobirama Senju. Soujiro was meditating... somewhere (he did a scarily good job at hiding his presence from her). While the rest of the adults were all entertained with their own game on the table.

Kushina smiled smugly as she laid out her hand of cards on the table. "Flush. I win~"

Her opponents, Lyn and Samenosuke, exchanged a rather confused look. "We were playing Poker?" The lecherous man questioned.

"I thought this was Hearts" The demon hunter added, scratching her wild mane of hair.

Samenosuke looked down at some of the items in the table. "Then why did I bring these spoons?"

It took Kushina a few seconds to process it. "So, we each thought we were playing something else?" She received two rather embarrassed nods. "Aaaaand nobody won then. Great, this was a waste of time"

"Wanna play Shogi?" The roguish Uzumaki asked, fingering one of his earrings.

"Hate it" Lyn droned. "How about one of those board games where you go winning money?"

"You wanna break up this family?" Kushina demanded with severe tone. "Because that is how you break up families!"

Seriously, she how does a supposed fun child's game turn people into hateful assholes. Fighting family members over 'fake' money for a board game... Maybe people are just wound up too tight, or take those games way too serious.

A knock on the door garnered everyone's attention save Karin who kept reading; "It's Naruto and Kya." The young teen remarked as she read her book.

Samenosuke dryly glanced; "And when did you feel them?" Jump scare pranks were virtually impossible with this girl and he had TRIED a lot.

"Hard to miss Naruto's chakra since it comes off like a star." She could sense him all the way outside the freaking village. It was a mix of him and the Bijuu inside him she felt. And both were literal night and day in how they felt. Went without saying she preferred feeling Naruto's chakra, his being so warm and bright. The Kyuubi's was so full of hate and rage she could feel overwhelmed if not careful.

The door soon opened as both blonds came in. The state of their attire put everyone on alarm as both looked like hell ran them over. But their expressions, (Kya's which got the most attention) were jovial and bright. The older blond was smiling... Actually smiling! Lyn felt her heart stop as she thought she was in a genjutsu.

Naruto waved at them; "We're home!"

"What the hell happened to you two?!" Kushina all but screeched as she dashed over to her son when zeroing in the holes in his clothes. "Why are these here?!" She glared over to Kya who actually froze from the intense glare from the redhead. Kushina could actually be a little scary now that Kya thought about it.

"Mom, we're fine!"

"You say that, yet we clearly can see the gaping holes in your clothes with what's obviously dried blood." Samenosuke addressed dryly now having Karin's attention as she gawked.

"We ran into some trouble." Naruto spoke up fast to get his mother's attention; "But we handled it."

"Trouble?" Saito questioned with a cocked brow.

"The Namikaze shrine turned out to be an ancient jubboko sealed away" Saito's eyes widened slightly, while Samenosuke let out a hissing sound and a wince. "It proved... difficult to deal with"

"Hmm, I bet" Everyone pretty much froze the moment Lyn spoke. She was giving Kya an unreadable look, one the Namikaze steeled herself to meet despite all the shame she was feeling. "The old ones are tricky"

Nobody dared make a sound, the situation between the two was... tense was a kinder word for it. That tension hung over them like a dark cloud, making the Uzumakis rather uncomfortable.

Kya's lips pursed as she tried to find the right words, to say all the things Lyn deserved to hear. Though she was no longer afraid of opening up her heart that did not mean she knew how to properly do so for someone so important to her to understand what she truly felt.

Still, Kya took a leap of faith. "Lyn, I-"

"No" The demon hunter shook her head, raising an index finger to stop her right there. "I am going to do the talking" She walked towards the messy blonde haired woman, who stared back in surprise as Lyn took her hand and guided her out of the house. "And you're going to listen"

Kya sent one last look at the people of the house, especially at Naruto, who merely waved her away and mouthed a simple 'good luck' with his smiling lips. The older Namikaze gave him a grateful node and a soft smile in turn, letting herself be taken away as the door closed behind them.

For a moment, the room was silent.

"Eventful trip I take it" Karin quipped, to which Naruto replied merely by letting out a long groan and letting himself fall over the couch.

"Can someone explain how a simple visit to a shrine ends up facing down and ogre in a small village, a small group of Ame missing Nin, and a bloodsucking demon tree?" He bemoaned, leaning his head back on the couch. He froze as he felt a presence above him. Opening his eyes gulped as his mother glared down at him.

He weakly chuckled as she spoke; "We're going to have a talk young man."

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* * *

The wind was a constant breeze at the top of the Hokage monument. Kya figured Lyn wanted to speak in private, well up here was as private as you could get.

Said buxom redhead had her back to her as the demon huntress stared at the village. "Remember when we first met?" She asked not turning; "There were supposed sightings of a Tengu around Tonika Village."

Kya said nothing as the redhead continued; "Was total bullshit being some drunken idiot dressing up at night. But saw you at the beach there, doing your meditation stuff. thought you were sleeping;" She snorted.

"I almost cut your hand off by accident when you touched me." That was a dreadfully awkward first meeting for them.

"I thought you were born without the facial muscles needed to make a smile" Lyn found it in herself to laugh good humoredly at the thought. "Always so serious, like that frown of yours was your natural state"

"I certainly did not make a good impression. And I made no attempt at hiding that I just wasn't the sort of person you'd like to hang around with" The mocha skinned woman's lips pursed, "And yet you came back..."

The demon hunter turned to face her, "But that's the thing, Kya, you're exactly my kind of person" At her confused expression, Lyn elaborated with a flashy grin. "The kind I know have a beautiful smile, hiding behind all that pain" Her smiled dimmed, but it did not disappear completely. "Even then I could see it, all the pain you carried with you. The pain of losing everything..."

Lyn understood what it was like to go through so much hardship, to have such precious things taken away from you.

"I couldn't stand it!" She muttered fiercely. "To see you like that, I hate it, I hate it when people are in pain"

Kya's gaze softened, such a noble heart, these Uzumaki in her life had...

"Maybe it was understanding at first, that I saw myself in you at first but... Then I got to meet you, the real you, the one you keep hidden behind that pain" Lyn smiled at her once more, it was such a beautiful sight. "The Kya that loves her clan so much, the one who desperately wanted to make her ancestors proud. The one who cares for other people, even if she says she'd rather be alone. The one who, when it comes down to it, would give up her own life to protect innocents"

The Namikaze's lips parted slightly, feeling her heart throb in her chest, filling up with the love Lyn gave her.

"And it wasn't just the big stuff; it was... it was all about you really!" She admitted rather embarrassed, scratching the back of her head, shuffling her wild mane of red hair as all her teeth flashed once more. "That face you make when something annoys you, how calm you look when you're meditating, the way you admire flowers and birds. And when you smile, Kya..." Lyn's blue eyes shimmered, staring at her with such adoration. "When you smile, I feel everything is just... right, you know?"

She did know; Kya too felt everything made sense when Lyn was smiling.

"And... And I don't want to miss any of that!" Lyn declared passionately, stepping closer to her. "Because without those things, without you there, everything feels wrong. Because you're that much important in my life" She stood barely half a food away from her, "I want to see you smile, I want to hear you laugh, to know you're happy... And you can go on about 'this is my path' all you like, but I decided I'm not leaving your side" Her words were filled with determination, a promise she would break. "I love you, and I'm willing to endure a thousand hardships, just for the sake of seeing you smile"

To her shock Kya smiled back; "I'm staying Lyn."

The redhead blinked rapidly a couple of times, "Huh..."

"I had a lot to think about. Plus we have a very stubborn little cousin who does not know the meaning of the words 'mind your own business'." Kya chuckled as she shook her head. Lyn only looked on dumbfounded; "I feel exactly the same way. You're crazy, silly, blunt, and stubborn. But also loving and passionate, there is no one else I rather share my life with."

"You're... staying?"

Kya nodded before being enveloped into a hug and passionate kiss from the wild haired Uzumaki woman. Kya mentally chuckled as she returned the kiss and held Lyn close. It was like lightning coursing through their bodies as they stayed like that till they lungs demanded oxygen. Finally their lips parted with both breathing heavily and their foreheads resting together.

"I love you Lyn." The buxom redhead felt tears rim her eyes as she not only heard those words but felt them. So much warmth to the words. She did not know what Naruto said to her but she will get him the best present ever!

As the two kissed again they froze as they felt an audience around them. Parting they saw at least four ANBU with both recognizing one with the purple hair and cat mask. Despite not seeing her face they could tell Yugao was apologetic for intruding; "The Hokage wished to speak with Kya Namikaze about the incident with the Shrine."

Oh... boy.

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* * *

"So." Tsunade spoke with exasperation as sat at her desk with Jiraiya and Shizune at her side. In front of her desk stood both Naruto and Kya as they told them what happened. Behind them was Kushina and Lyn who sat on the sofas; "I thought this was a normal visit the ancestral shrine of your clan. Not demon slaying and facing down some ragtag group of Ame Missing Nin."

"Were they on the bingo books?" Naruto absently asked out loud. And getting a few looks for it; "What? Legitimate question."

"Chump change thugs' kid," The toad sage crossed his arms with snort as the young blond groaned.

Tsunade stared at her grandson; "On. Topic. Naruto." The young blond stood straighter at the stern voice of his grandmother; "And what's this 'agreement' about with the Kyuubi?"

"Uhhhhhhhhhhh" He felt paralyzed before the very stern looks coming from his grandmother, his mother, and his mentor. Clearly they were not all too happy with this bit of news. "O-kaay I know how it sounds" He uncomfortable scratched his head, "But it's not like he can do any damage or anything, it's just something to benefit us both"

"Describe it" The air escaped between the Hokage's in an impatient hiss. "In detail"

"I let him manifest a bit, just a liiiiiiitle bit of chakra outside" He said, bringing his thumb and index as close as possible without them actually touching. "So he can manifest as a tiny clone"

"And do what, exactly?" Kushina pointedly asked; her arms crossed under her bust.

Naruto shrugged, "Just run around fields and forests, have a bit of freedom from time to time"

"And that's ALL he does?" Jiraiya asked him in concern, "Are you sure?"

"He hasn't done anything bad" The young jinchuuriki replied, "And he says that he's more likely to help when our lives are in danger"

Tsunade let out a long sigh, "Naruto, you should have come forward with this the moment the fox came with this proposition" Shaking her head, she looked at him in disapproval. "For all you know, it could have been part of an elaborate plan to trick you"

"What can he do with just a tiny bit of chakra? Little summons have more chakra than he does as that small clone"

Kya took that moment to intervene, "I am not entirely comfortable with their situation either. But the Nine Tails did in fact offer us advice when we were dealing with the jubboko. Even if he just acted to perverse his own life by making sure Naruto survived" The younger Namikaze took notice that Kya did not use Kurama's name, most likely because the fox had made it clear he did not like it to be shared lightly.

Tsunade frowned, taking a small breath as her fingers intertwined before her face. "Bring him here"

Shizune turned to her alarm, "Shishou..."

"Woah, you serious?" Jiraiya asked, his expression mirroring Shizune's.

"I want to hear it from the fox" She nodded to Naruto, "Go on, tell him to come here"

"I'm not sure he'll want to-"

Naruto's words died in his mouth the moment he felt Kurama's voice in his head. **"Ohhh I have plenty of things to say to them"**

They all tensed when a small burst of smoke appeared on Naruto's shoulder. Kushina was quickly on her feet, glaring daggers at the small fluffy fox with nine tails that perched on her son. To most, it would have looked like a cute critter, but they knew what he truly was.

While Kya remained passively looking at the Bijuu, Lyn's eyes were focused in concentration in case she needed to act at a moment's notice, even if the chakra she felt from the small clone was miniscule. She'd found kappa with more chakra than that thing.

Kurama's red eyes shifted over to Kushina, their gazes meeting with such intensity one could imagine the air between them just igniting into flames.

"Old rag" Kushina drone in a 'greeting'

 **"Fur-less bitch"** The Nine Tailed fox replied with the same tone. **"I can't say I've missed you"**

She snorted, "Same here"

A clearing of the throat ceased the stare down as the fox looked back to Tsunade. **"So what does Hashirama's drunkard little granddaughter wish to ask me?"** The barely civil tone chiding in his words made Tsunade's eye twitch but held in her temper. Jiraiya stood tense along with Shizune who was ready for anything.

"The deal you made with Naruto-"

 **"Is exactly like the brat explained. He can learn my power with less hassle from me. And all I want is as you see."** Kurama interrupted in a bored tone **. "From Mito, the bitch behind me, and brat here I've spent nearly a hundred years in confinement. You'd be surprised what just feeling the air once more can do for your mood."**

"Bullshit it's that simple." Kushina raised her voice.

Kurama rolled his eyes; **"It's as simple as you are simple minded and insane, woman. I asked for a small measure of freedom in this form and Naruto gets to harnesses true power. Doesn't that help your little village, having your secret weapon being less antagonistic?"**

Shizune leaned in to mutter into Tsunade's ear. "It does benefit us greatly; particularly when you take into account one our potential threats are Kumo. And you know who their Jinchuuriki is"

Killer Bee or Kirabi as he was known. Beyond some offhand information about the man's eccentric personality, one thing all the nations knew and feared was the undeniable fact that he was the perfect Jinchuuriki. The man had absolute control over his Bijuu, to the point he could fully morph into the beast itself and unleash devastating power. He was the reason Kumo was considered to be impregnable, as his Bijudama could eradicate any invading force.

If they deployed him against them...

Gods she hated how pragmatic she had to be about this, particularly when it came to her grandson... but she was the Hokage now.

"The moment, the second I find out you plotted against us, or even dared harm Naruto-"

 **"Save your threats"** The Nine-Tailed fox boringly replied. **"My survival depends on his, much to my annoyance. So I can assure you, making sure he stays alive falls well within my interests"**

"But death doesn't mean much to you now does it?" Jiraiya pointed out, "You're a giant mass of chakra that acquired physical form. You can eventually reform if you die"

Kurama was silent for a moment **; "Imagine yourself being torn apart and fully conscious while it happens. Your body, mind, and soul shredded. Ripped to a thousand pieces. You want to scream but you have no mouth, the experience tears your consciousness until you can barely remember who you are. That is the death of a Bijuu endures before reforming. And even that is beyond painful; we can be driven to madness and insanity. Shukaku is a prime example since he has died twice. And that was enough to turn him into the raging lunatic he is now."**

Wait... that oversized walking sand Tanuki used to be different before dying?

 **"I never experienced dying myself. Unless your account for the other half of me seal into the Shinigami's stomach. I can only imagine what he is enduring in that hellscape. But I have heard a few stories of the other Bijuu who had died. Matatabi was one of them."** Naruto's eyes went wide at that; **"So yes, dying terrifies me as much as it does you. For I might end up like Shukaku, and I refuse to become a senseless bloodthirsty beast like him."**

The room was silent as many of them were pale at the revelation of what happens to a Bijuu upon death and reforming. Regardless of her feeling towards the fox, Kushina wouldn't wish such a horror on her worst enemy.

It took a moment for Tsunade to collect herself before she spoke again; "One last thing. Do you have any idea who ripped you out of Kushina and put you under that Genjutsu with the Sharingan twelve years ago?"

 **"I know as much as you do. Next to nothing, save one detail. His scent was that of an Uchiha."** Kurama sneered with hate in his tone. **"I would never forget one of their wretched kind, nor their cursed eyes."**

"So it was an Uchiha..." Tsunade leaned back on her chair, massaging the bridge of her nose. At least they had confirmation now, but the question still remained, who was he?

From the sheer loathing in Kushina's eyes, it was clear her daughter did not care for his identity; she just wanted to see that man pay for all the pain he had brought them.

 **"Now, if that is all"** The fox spoke with finality, clearly no longer caring to continue this conversation. **"Then I'll take my leave"** Though not before folding his tails in what looked to be a clenching fist, one finger rising in Kushina's direction.

"Oh you little-" The fox vanished before the redhead could carry out her retaliation. "Next time he's out, be a dear and tell me, Naruto" She spoke oh so sweetly, "I'm going to punt him to the other side of the world" The occupants of the room sweatdropped.

"You need anything else?" The young blonde asked Tsunade. "I'd like to get some rest after all that crap with the shrine."

Tsunade inclined her head, "You can go"

As the young Jinchuuriki made for the door, Jiraiya called out to him, "Don't forget we have elemental training tomorrow!"

"I know!" He replied before closing the door.

"Least he will have a day's rest" Shizune spoke in sympathy. "But isn't elemental training too early for him?"

"The brat's been at it since discovering his Shoton. Sensei felt it best he learn those." Jiraiya reasoned glancing to the young Medic-Nin.

"His Shoton is strong, as I witnessed" Kya spoke up, "But he relies on it too much"

"Which is what I intend to fix" The older sage said, giving a measuring look to the newly minted one. "Now, let's talk about your sage status. There is something we need to share with you..."

* * *

 **XxX ~ the next day ~ XxX**

* * *

"Why does it feel like every time you leave the village something always happens?" Droned Tenten as she and her team sat with Naruto along with the rest of the Rookie 9 at an Akamichi restaurant by Sakura's invitation. Karin sadly couldn't join them having something to do with the Godaime. Soujiro was somewhere training with his father. "Mission or not, it's like you can't help but get into a fight with thugs or demons."

"It's not that bad Ten-Chan." Naruto weakly remarked back.

Sakura dryly stared at him; "Remember the 'simple' escort mission we had a month before the Chunin exams?"

"Ambushed by twenty bandits with three being former Ninja. You messed up your clothes 'again' duking it out with the leader with Shadow Clones." Sasuke continued in a monotone drawl.

Ino sighed in exasperation; "Yeesh Naruto, and a few days ago you fought a vampire tree, some Ame thugs, and an ogre! Whatever bad luck you have please don't rub it off on us."

The blond Uzumaki dully stared back; "You're all heart Ino..."

"I must say, it is rather strange how these sorts of circumstances often follow you" Neji, from his place on the other side of the table, commented. "Not too long ago, I would have called it fate... But you make it hard not to believe in it sometimes, coincidences only go so far"

"'Coincidence', 'fate', call it whatever you want. I call it bad luck" Kiba said as he gave Akamaru a bit of her roasted meat under the table. "Seriously guys, this sort of thing happens too often to you. Something is always going wrong around you. Your missions, the Forest of Death, this jubboko thing. Weirdness seems to like you"

The jinchuuriki grunted, resting his chin on his hand. "Well it's a one sided relationship then. I'm too starting to think a lot of weird crap happens around me, too much for my liking..."

"Admit it" Sakura said with a coy grin, "Part of you does like it"

"...I do" Naruto shamefully admitted, "So maybe I like having adventures, even if they get a biiiiiit weird"

"You mean dangerous" Shikamaru said after chewing some fries. "How many people can say they fought a Bijuu? Or multiple demons for that matter now"

"What is up with the demons anyway?" Chōji momentarily stopped eating his hamburger, uncaring that the corners of his mouth were stained with the condiments. "From what I know, they haven't been that much of a problem before"

"Indeed" Lee said, who despite enjoying his dinner was also training by using a hand squeezer under the table, never waste any moment as Gai-sensei said. "Their numbers seemed to have dwindled greatly since before even the time of the Clan Wars, at least, that's what the record keepers say"

"Not dwindled" Shino, who had yet to even touch his food, corrected him. "Hidden"

Shikamaru casted a look over to Naruto; "More work for that Aunt of yours?"

"Yup," Naruto gave a nod as he ate; "Kya mentioned aunt Lyn told her about the rise in more aggressive demons roaming about. No idea why though."

Hinata fidgeted on her seat; "Y-You sure you're alright from the other day Naruto-Kun?"

"Yup, I'm well rested now!" The blond gave a thumbs up with a grin before deadpanning; "Though I got elemental chakra training with Ero-Sennin today too." It wasn't like hated the training, far from it. But he knew the old perv would have him do both wind and earth natures. And gods he hated earth nature training... "Least the wind training will be fun."

"I swear you and Lee love training." Ino snorted before stopping; "Wait you have wind chakra?" Her fellow blond nodded; "Asuma-Sensei also has wind chakra."

"Jiji told me, just never gotten around to talk to Asuma-sensei yet about any pointers."

"Why not your own sensei?" Tenten curiously asked, "I mean, isn't he known as the man who knows a thousand jutsu?"

"Kakashi-sensei says it's more like six hundred seventy four" The pinkette replied, "But a thousand sounds cooler"

Somehow that did not surprise Tenten, were there that many jutsu in existence in the first place?

"Besides" Naruto took over, "Sensei says most jutsu he knows he can't really teach, they're outright copied by his Sharingan, and they're kind of... burned into his mind without the whole learning process. He can't teach techniques he himself didn't learn because he doesn't know how to teach them, he can understand them but thanks to his Sharingan he just automatically does them"

"Ah, I see" Neji said, intrigued by the whole prospect. "And I assume he knows few wind techniques of his own then."

"Basically. I mean yeah he could teach me the essentials how to use the element, but..." Naruto's tone suddenly became a touch uncomfortable. "Well, he's also very busy lately. He's been helping deal with the clean-up left by Danzo"

At the mention of the traitor's name, the faces of their peers soured.

Sakura's expression became one of pure disgust, "Have you guys heard about the children?"

"C-Children?" Hinata repeated alarmed. Anything involving that warmongering former elder and 'children' did not bode well.

"I did" The Yamanaka heiress muttered, "It's horrible, he's been turning kids, from our age or even YOUNGER, into mindless tools for his Root operations for years"

Kiba let out an angry snarl, his anger shared by his fellow rookies.

"When Danzo's plots were discovered, he just... abandoned them" Ino shook her head, "My dad and my clan have been doing an extensive damage control on them. A lot of them... gods, it's like they're machines"

She was there for one case with a boy their age known as Sai. His eyes were just so lifeless; no joy, anger, sadness, nothing. It really unnerved her when he attempted to smile. Ino shook away the chill; "Daddy said he thinks they can help those around our age and younger. But it will take time."

"We can hope for the best." Neji commented as he sipped his tea.

Naruto nodded before brightening as a thought occurred to him; "I just remembered something I wanted to do for you guys." Everyone peered his way as he put his hands together. All saw a faint glow as the blond puts his hands on the table and several rings and bracelets plopped down. "Wanted to give you guys something."

Stars gleamed in Ino's eyes; "Jewelry!" Instantly a ring and bracelet vanished and adorned one of the heiress's finger and wrist. "You are such a sweetie Naru!"

 _'...Naru...'_ The young Uzumaki mentally droned. Kurama only chuckled in amusement but said nothing. Naruto shook his head; "Thanks... You guys can take one."

"Does it look like I wear this kind of stuff dobe?"

"Oh shut up teme and take one!"

"I'm more of a necklace guy" Kiba offhandedly said, awkwardly coughing into his hand when he noticed the several glances sent his way.

Sasuke ignored the antics as he stared at the pieces of crystal on the table. "Give me one reason I should wear them"

"They're extremely useful for storing chakra" The blonde informed him along with the others. "It can be a lifesaver if you're running low on energy. Just store chakra into it, it can even hold two days' worth of your chakra"

Okay, that sounded like it could be useful one day.

Sakura adjusted bracelet on her wrist. "This can really make a difference on drawn out fights. Unlike some other people" She said a teasing glare at Naruto, "I wasn't born with an abnormal chakra capacity" She sent another look at Sasuke, "I don't think the Sharingan would be of much use if you hit chakra exhaustion"

"Hmph, fine" The Uchiha grunted, grabbing one piece that could be made into a necklace and pocked it into his shorts.

"When did you learn your crystal could store chakra?" Tenten asked, absently remembering the crystal shuriken she kept stored in her possessions.

Naruto cheerfully replied, "The other day when my mom was teaching my chakra storage seals. Found out by accident even!"

A thought occurred to the young weapon mistress, "Can do you one customized?"

"Sure"

She quickly grabbed a paper napkin an with a senbon hiding in her buns, proceeded to write a name. "If it's not much issue, can you do a necklace that looks like this?"

Naruto, along with the other people at the table, squinted at the words Tenten had written down. "What type of kanji is that?" Ino muttered in confusion.

"It's not kanji" Tenten almost rolled her eyes, "It's hànzì, the written language of Jiāyuán. It says 'Xiang'" She explained, "It's my mother's name"

All eyes shot toward her, etched in shock; "Your mother is from Jiāyuán?!" Hinata spoke in surprise.

"Holy shit... I thought we were on bad terms with those guys." Kiba muttered with a bark from Akamaru as the Inuzuka took a crystal necklace from Naruto.

"Presently we have a writ of neutrality between us and Jiāyuán. There hasn't been any open conflict in seventy years." Shino addressed while adjusting his glasses. "But I imagine its more complicated than that."

Chouji leaned over to Naruto; "It so weird hearing him talk so much."

"I know..." None saw the faint eye twitch from the Aburame but did not retort from their comments.

"Mom never cared for any of that. She was a smith like dad. They ran into each other across one of the border towns. 'Love at first sight' dad always said." A snort came from the young teen

Sakura leaned in; "How was she treated here?"

"People were suspicious, but mom said she earned the village's respect. Took her years though."

"No shit" Kiba said, "I heard from my grandfather that back in the old days, Jiāyuán and Gogyou-koku fought as much as..." He stopped, trying to find a good comparison.

"Like the Hidden Villages do now?" Shikamaru drawled.

"Yeah, basically"

"You never noticed my name isn't really regional?" Tenten asked with a raised brow, though her expression quickly morphed to one of joy as Naruto handed her a necklace with her mother's name. She gratefully took it in her hands and gave him a cheery 'thank you'.

"Depends on the region really" Rock Lee, a bearer of such a non-standard name, pointed out, having somehow finished eating twenty fries in just a few seconds. Which Chouji seemed to take as a challenge. "The further you travel through the nations the more you can notice cultural differences"

"It's not like our continent is entirely the same" Sakura shrugged, "I mean yeah, our culture is pretty similar but differences do pop up in other Elemental countries"

"Jiāyuán has their own culture yes" Tenten explained, "But even then you can find similarities between our own"

"Kinda weird innit?" Naruto said after taking a bit from his burger. "I thought there'd be people with, like, WAY different cultures than ours"

"Oh, oh!" Kiba seemed to jump on his seat. "Reminds me of a story my clan passes down, it's pretty awesome!" The rookies shared an intrigued look as a few gestured him to go on. "Right, so this was backing WAY before the founding of the villages. Back then my clan was a bit rowdier than they are now"

'Rowdier' was being kind. They were stories regarding the Inuzuka clan of old, they were absolute beasts on the battlefield, displaying such brutality and savagery that very few people even wanted to deal with them. It was only due to them mellowing out through the generations that they were even considered to join Konoha in the first place after its founding.

"My ancestors were on the northern coast of the continent one time" The Inuzuka heir began, a wide grin showing his pointy fangs. "They saw a group of boats closing in on the shore, they were very weird, long and didn't look very big. But there were a LOT of people there. They all dressed very differently, they wore pelts and armor, but not the kind you see around here. Not even the old classic samurai gear. These people were HUGE, like, really tall and all muscle. And they spoke a tongue nobody could understand. They just landed there and began raiding everything in sight" His grin became a touch feral, "But my clan, badass that they were, fought them off"

"Was it a swift victory?" Neji asked in curiosity.

"Pfft! Hell no, one thing my clan makes sure to remember right was how damn tough those outsiders were"

Huh, the world really was a big place then. Who knew what else waited out there?

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

Tsunade had to admit Karin's test scores were nothing to sneeze at. Sitting in her office at the hospital she went over the young Uzumaki's academic tests with said young redhead sitting on a chair in front of her. "And what did Orochimaru have you work on?" The Senju asked as she leaned on her chair.

"Medical and various types of scientific research."

"I noticed he didn't put a curse mark on you."

Karin adjusted her glasses; "Because my mind was more important than my body. Kabuto was the same along the other few scientists who work for Orochimaru." She rubbed her arms; "Didn't stop him from experimenting on me though."

Tsunade bit back the anger on what those experiments could have been. But seems that old traitorous partner of hers was right to have her in those fields. Next to her immense empathic sensory skills, the girl had an IQ to rival a Nara. _'I can set her up for part-time partnering with that Shiho girl.'_ Besides Cryptanalysis, that girl worked in quite a few of science branches of the village _. 'Also help with her hectic work load.'_ Even for a hyper fifteen year old all the work she does could leave anyone exhausted.

The older blond put down the papers; "Are you okay with me wanting to test this healing ability of yours?"

"I don't mind. At least here I know it will do more good." Karin grinned as Tsunade rose from her chair and came over.

She knelt down beside the girl; "So how does this work again?"

"You bite my arm and my chakra restores and heals you."

"Hmm" The Hokage frowned, "Does it need to be so cannibalistic?"

"It's the best way that it works. You need to directly come into contact with my life-force, you are in fact 'consuming' my chakra" The glasses wearing girl explained, pulling up her sleeve. The Hokage did not like how there were still noticeable bite marks in her upper arm.

"We could do something about those scars"

Karin pursed her lips; "I would appreciate it" She said gratefully.

"What about blood consumption? Still a bit much but no need to go around harming you that way"

"Tried that before I'm afraid" She replied, "There's not enough concentrated chakra running in blood that's already out of my body"

The Hokage let out a soft sigh, pulling out a kunai to make a deep gash in her hand without even flinching. A far cry from the time she would just freeze upon the sight of blood. Gently taking Karin's hand, she bit into the skin, not as harshly as some other times Karin had healed someone, but enough to draw an uncomfortable groan from the young girl.

Tsunade felt herself invigorated by a sudden rush of energy entering her body. She quickly removed herself from the girl's arms and stared at her hand, watching with surprise as the wound was healing rapidly on its own, without any assistance from her own healing techniques at all.

"Impressive"

Karin rubbed the spot that had been bitten. "It can even save a person in critical condition, that's how strong my healing is"

"You're still letting people absorb a lot of your chakra this way" Tsunade pointed out, "You may be Uzumaki, but your reserves are not that big. It could kill you from chakra exhaustion"

"It's because I'm an Uzumaki that I can do this in the first place, my life-force is very potent. I reckon a regular person would pass out after one bite. But I know my limits, that's why I take the precautions of just doing this once a day"

 _'Smart, but I still prefer she use it sparingly.'_ "Only use your healing factor when it is absolutely needed. Understood" Karin gave a nod which made the Godaime smile; "Very good. I'll have a mission for you along with Naruto's team tomorrow. Tell them for me would you?"

"Yes Godaime-Sama."

Tsunade deadpanned; "You don't have to be so formal with me here. And didn't Kushina adopt you?" Honestly the last Senju wasn't surprised when her daughter came with adoption papers for young redhead a few days ago. Karin was so shocked all she did was gawk before crying.

"I'm... still getting use to that." Having a new mother plus a brother now, adoptive or otherwise... It will take a bit to adjust to, especially it being Kushina and Naruto. But it felt good. The bifocal wearing teen smiled; "But I'm happy." She paused; "I am glad you came back."

"Same here kiddo."

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

"I want some result today brat!"

"You're not the one cutting a fucking waterfall with your chakra Ero-Sennin!"

Just outside the village Jiraiya sat on a boulder near an enormous lake/river connected to waterfall. Standing in the waterfall and getting thoroughly drenched were several shirtless Naruto clones. Not far from them were other shadow clones with their hands to the ground. Both groups were focusing their chakra to properly tune it to the chakra natures of wind and earth.

Meanwhile the original Naruto was with the clones in the waterfall.

"Wind moves freely and cuts, you need to make your chakra thin and edgy!" The sage shouted his advice from his place on the boulder. "Rock is steady and firm, totally the opposite of wind, the chakra needs to be constant and solid!"

The main Naruto shouted back, "It's gonna take me forever to learn two completely different things!"

"And yet, you combine them into Shoton, you dumbass!"

Several of the Narutos cried back in indignation, "It's instinctual! We didn't even know we were combining elements when we first did it!" The original said.

Jiraiya grinned in a smarmy manner, "What was that old spiel you said about 'I was born with disadvantages like Lee' the other time?"

"OH PISS OFF!" Every single Naruto shouted angrily at the same time.

The Toad Sage slapped his knee, throwing his head back laughing. "HAHAHA! You're exactly like your mom when she was learning to use her affinities!"

The blond paused at a thought; "Mom's a wind type like me and Asuma-Sensei. Why am I not learning from them?"

"Cause both are needed for all the back-log of missions we have. And as a Sage and Spymaster I have a lot more leeway to do the things I want or deem necessary."

"Kya told me a bit about how people become sages. But what do they actually do?"

Jiraiya paused as he rubbed his chin; "The overview is basically we preserve the balance of the world. Not exactly easy given the state of things, and there is the fact becoming a sage is not simple." And if he was remotely honest he had to admit he was barely a tier 1 given he still needed Ma and Pa to not turn into a Toad. "Being a sage is just as hard as being a ninja, maybe even more so given the training. But we are recognized throughout the nations and respected. Well in theory anyways." Heading to either Iwa or Kumo wouldn't be smart even if you were a sage.

Naruto, deciding he could use a break, dispelling his clones jumped down the waterfall. Picking up a towel amongst the rest of his clothes to dry himself a bit. Jiraiya threw a treat his way, a simple cereal bar, not what he would have liked to have right now but he wasn't going to complain.

Naruto sat before the Sannin, the towel draping over his shoulders as he took a bite from the bar. "So, you guys protect innocent people and stuff?"

"It's a very important part of the job yes" Jiraiya replied, crossing his arms. "And we fight those who threaten the safety of this world. You know very well by now that there are evil individuals, people who by greed or just a sick sense of fun spread chaos and pain wherever they go"

There was a great sense of pride in Jiraiya's words, he truly believed in his role as a sage.

"How many of you are there?"

"Of human sages? Hmph, in this day and age there aren't many. I can count the ones I personally know in one hand, and that is including that cousin of yours now"

Naruto put his cereal bar down, "Damn, that sucks"

"The animal clans do what they can, but there was a time that they could count with larger numbers of us sages to help them" Jiraiya reached into his clothes, pulling out a single piece that looked like it belonged to a board game. It had the symbol of a lotus. "Once upon a time, there was an order of people like us, who dedicated themselves to the protection of the world. They were known as the 'White Lotus'."

That sounded pretty cool honesty. But something caught his attention; "Were?"

Oh no way was he going to fully explain to the kid about the _Age of Chaos_ and the _Sundering Event_. Even if he knew Naruto could probably get most of it, it would be too much for him right now anyways. But he can least summarize over it. "Something bad happened, long, long ago. The gods... they can't interfere directly in the mortal realm, not anymore. So in a time of great chaos, the sages and their allies banded together, and formed a sacred brotherhood to protect the world"

A particular part about it caught Naruto's attention as he sat ramrod straight; "Are... Are you saying the gods are real?"

"Ask Genryu, he was alive back then. Along with some elders of the animal clans" He said much to Naruto's shock before sighing tiredly; "But the order failed."

He sounded defeated. "What happened?"

"War" The word carried immense weight in his voice. "There was a war, one that makes the Great Shinobi Wars pale in comparison. Such that it torn the world apart and made the heavens tremble"

Jiraiya wasn't one to waste time with flowery poetry or allegory, which made Naruto realize with a growing sense of trepidation that he meant those words literally.

"There are forces in this world, Naruto" The sage gravely spoke. "Old, powerful... malevolent. That seek to drown this world in raw chaos. My task, as a sage, and as a man who believes in peace, is to stand up against them. To ensure good, simple folk can have a future" He let out a weary sigh. "This goes beyond the politics of the nations, far beyond the perpetual power struggle the shinobi villages have locked themselves into"

It all sounded so daunting to Naruto, Jiraiya's task was on a scale that he could barely comprehend. As a ninja, the village was meant to be his life, his duty, everything. He... never considered what existed beyond it. He looked at his mentor, whom he knew as a very strong and wise man (not that he'd admit it to his face), burdened by the weight of the world on his shoulders...

"But you said there aren't many sages left..."

"Hah!" To his surprise, a hopeful smile appeared on Jiraiya's face. "That doesn't mean there aren't people who believe as we do. We have allies, Naruto. Even if those people they don't know it yet. People who would give their lives to protect those in need. I know for a fact we're living on an age where new heroes will rise up to protect this world."

He stared at the lotus piece on his hand with renewed vigor.

"The lady who gave him this reminded me I'm not alone in this task. And the great toad sage gave me the hope of knowing there are people in this world... who inherited a great will"

"A will?" Naruto cocked his head. "Like the Will of Fire"

"This, is the Will of Rama." The blond never heard such reverence and respect come from the old perv since meeting him. "That would take all day to explain him. But to summarize; Rama was a legendary warrior king who faced down demons, evil gods, and men alike. Respected, loved, and deeply feared by all evil. Think of the Shodai but WAY more badass."

At that the young Uzumaki only looked wide eyed; "Whoa..."

"Rama saved the world once, in a bygone age. And laid down a legacy that carries on to this day. We sages follow the example he set" He held the lotus piece tightly in his hand. "The gods entrusted us to protect this world, so you bet your ass I'll give my all to live up to that legacy"

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

The moon hung over the night sky with the star shone over a large forest. Nocturnal animals roamed peacefully keeping to themselves as three shadows moved liked ghosts through the foliage. "Who is this damn woman Hidan?" A deep aged masculine voice questioned with mild urgency.

"How the fuck should I know Kakuzu?!" Another man's younger voice hollered back with anger.

"Because she has been chasing us the moment she zeroed in on you idiot."

Both men wore Akatsuki cloaks dashing through the forest. Kakuzu being a very tall muscular man with tan skin, a sweatband covering his forehead, and a black mask covering his lower face. His green irises with red sclerae glared at his partner Hidan. A man of average height man medium length slicked back silver hair with fair skin, and unique purple eyes. He wore a pendant with a triangle and held a tri-bladed scythe in his hands.

The two Akatsuki partners were like oil and water, constantly driving each other insane with insults born from their low opinion of the other. The only reason they were paired up by their leader's orders most likely being they couldn't kill each other, and he had grown wearing of the Taki missing-nin constantly killing his partners.

Kakuzu wouldn't be wrong to consider Hidan's presence a punishment for him.

But when the two fought together, there was no one that could bring down the duo. Even if for different reasons, killing them was extremely difficult, if not nigh impossible in Hidan's case.

So what drove such a strong duo to run in the first place rather than confront their enemy?

Well, just about the most powerful chakra Kakuzu had felt in his life since the Shodai Hokage.

The woman... there was something odd about her. And that said a lot considering his own nature and the things he'd seen in his life. The moment she run into them he had felt an overwhelming level of power, she had not be afraid to let her chakra explode like a wildfire the moment she saw Hidan.

That fiery red gaze...

It was the first time in years that Kakuzu could feel killing intent actually affect him.

He just knew his idiotic partner would get them into trouble one day. He did not know what she wanted with him, but he'd rather be able to report back to the rest of Akatsuki in one piece.

The duo's gaze went up to the sky the moment they saw three sources of light illuminating the forest. Giant fireballs that fell like meteors to the earth multiple meters before them, exploding upwards violently in pillars of flame that began spreading through the forest.

They stopped in their tracks, landing on the ground. Before Kakuzu could use his hardening skin technique or even a water jutsu to douse the flames and create an opening, he felt it once more. That enormous chakra closing in behind them.

"I didn't want to set this forest on fire to stop you, but you left me no choice. It's just something I'll have to fix later"

They turned back sharply, and there she stood. Dressing in white and blue robes with red linings, white hair swaying with the wind. And those fierce red eyes that seemed to shine in the darkness, even as the forest kept getting brighter by the growing flames, they still managed to stand out in contrast to her pale skin.

"Who the fuck are you?" Hidan demanded, shifting the grip on his scythe.

Red eyes narrowed, "Sworn defender of this world, sage of the flame, Tomoe Gozen"

Frightened recognition shone in his eyes, drawing a sharp gasp as his mouth opened and closed. It honestly disturbed Kakuzu that there was something, anything that could inspire fear in the so called immortal. Somehow, the name meant something to him, while to the Taki-nin it did not ring any bells. And as someone who kept a zealous track of every name in the Bingo book, the fact there was someone HIDAN of all people knew about, and not him, managed to irk him slightly.

Fire danced all around as Tomoe kept her gaze on Hidan; "You know why I'm here priest of Jashin. I want answers."

Kakuzu cocked a brow to his partner who still looked like a frightened child. "Care to fill me in on what I'm missing?" The former Taki Nin grumped at the silver haired lunatic.

Hidan ignored him, instead holding his medallion tightly. "High Priest, it's her, the half-blooded sage, what do I do?!"

Was he… talking to someone through the medallion?

The Jashin priest only looked like a scared animal, "Understood…" Before screaming wildly and charged at the woman. He ignored his partner's order to stand down as he lifted his scythe at Tomoe, ready to strike. Hidan might as well not even have tried as his head left his neck. It happened in a blink for Kakuzu, less than microsecond ago this Tomoe woman stood in front of Hidan, now she was behind him holding a beautiful ornate katana, the blade being completely red in color. Her red eyes stony as they rested on Kakuzu while Hidan's body fell to the ground along with his head.

"Seem you ruined your chance for answers." Kakuzu remarked with a small edge in his tone.

"We both know that's not the case" She looked up at him analytically. "Kakuzu, formally of village Takigakure. While renowned for your bad temper and greed, few know about the attempted assassination of Hashirama Senju."

"Someone is well-informed."

"I had to do extra research. I missed out on a lot" She merely replied as Hidan, who could only stare around widely, desperately sought a way out. Going as far as to propel his head with nothing but his jaw, moving just inches across the ground, leaving a trail of blood from his severed neck. "You can go on your way, I only need him"

"While I'd love for nothing more than to finally be rid of that walking living headache, I'd be in deep trouble if I come back with him gone" His head tilted slightly, "You clearly don't want him for information on Akatsuki, or else you'd try to apprehend me as well"

Her silence indicated he had been right on his remark.

"I don't know what you want with him, be it his so called immortality, or whatever he has been hiding from us" The Taki Nin began walking forward, the flames behind him casting a light over his back that shrouded his front in darkness. "Taking you down and bringing you to my superiors might prove useful"

"Jashin's spite, Kakuzu!" Hidan's head hollowed. "Just get me away from this bitch, don't fight her you moron!"

Kakuzu ignored him and kept walking towards the white haired young woman.

She let out a sigh, "I really do not have time for this"

Her entire body was shrouded in flames, and as they vanished her attire had changed. She now wore ornate red and white armor, a large kusazuri piece with plates of white, red and blue covering her lower body, with only her long loose pads and sandal-clad feet remaining visible, at the front of the skirt-like armor was the symbol of a lotus flower. By contrast her upper body was less armored, opting for white tabard over a black undersuit, her shoulders were bare, but along her forearms were gaudy pieces of plate, the first segment being blue in color, becoming red with segmented pieces of armor covering her fingers. The finally piece of her ensemble was a headband with two demonic horns; something often wore by young samurai.

There it was again, the enormous chakra...

But Kakuzu learnt long ago that large reserves of chakra did not make the ninja. He was old, experienced, and had ways of surviving that no regular man possessed, not to mention a great array of abilities that would give him the edge on this fight.

The missing-nin dashed forward, through a fast handsign he turned the skin of his arms to darken, and earth-chakra flowed through limbs as they became empowered and hard as diamonds. As his opponent was a heavy fire user, he knew her attacks would not be able to pierce him.

He attacked with speed and aggression, but the shorter woman dodged his strikes with great dexterity, ducking under his blows, redirecting his punches and evading his kicks. He leapt at her and delivered a downwards punch, to which she avoided, and the fist connected with earth.

His chakra enhanced limb caused the ground to shutter, raising up a cloud of dust that casted a larger shadow when blocking the flames. Yet from the dust Kakuzu saw another source of flames, her red katana became alit with hungry flames, she saw her figure dashing towards him at great speed. Unable to dodge, Kakuzu brought up his arms to block, confident they would endure the strike without issue.

The blade cut through both his arms.

Kakuzu let out a cry of pain as the searing hot blade slashed at his skin, he jumped away until he gained a safe distance. He shakily raised his limbs, and past the torn and burning cloth of his cloak, he saw his dark forearms, bleeding from deep gashes.

How? That had been fire element, nothing but lightning could pierce his earth-chakra enhanced limbs. Could it have been the sword? What material was it made out of to be able to pierce his greatest defense? Was it some kind of seal in them perhaps?

He pushed away those thoughts, growling as he removed his cloak. Tomoe was greeted to the sight of his body looking like it was literally sewn together. Many, many lines of stitches covered an alarming amount of skin, almost like the man had been torn apart in the past and quite literally put together again.

"Your body, those do not look like wounds" She pondered, "No, they appear to be the result of a gruesome modification"

"Perceptive" He replied, anger still creeping to his words. "I'll show just how I've lived this long"

He groaned and growled as his body begun to convulse. Tomoe stood ready, her eyes narrowed as she saw something move from his back. "You won't stop this whore Kakuzu!"

"Shut up," the former Taki Nin growled; "I don't know what you have been hiding from us. But once I'm done with her you're going to answer some questions to leader."

The masked man soon roared as four masks came out of his back. Grotesque, monstrous creatures made from living black wires stood at his side. All four bearing the mask of a different animal.

"Are you even human anymore?" Tomoe questioned out of pity; "Does death frighten you so much you made yourself into this creature?"

Kakuzu scoffed as more threads moved about his body; "I won't discuss morality with you, woman. Let's get this over with."

"As you wish."

The beaked biped water mask fired a stream of high pressure water. Such was its intensity that it cut a path through the ground as it went up, but the warrior woman held her sword firm before the stream. The water sprawled everywhere around her while being vaporized into steam from the contact with red blade.

The lightning mask took its chance while Tomoe was busy, Kakuzu directed it to corner the woman, with a series of handsigns, and he commanded it to attack. " _Lightning Style; False Darkness_!"

A highly focused beam of lightning fired from its mouth, attacking Tomoe from the side. As she defended herself from the water beam, she'd be unable to counter attack while the water mark kept her busy. But to his surprise, she let one hand go of her sword, staying firm enough that the water attack wasn't pushing her back in the least, and with a swath of fire she manifest a red bladed naginata. With a swing from the polearm, she sent a wave of wave that disrupted the lightning strike, reaching the mask and sending it flying back against a tree. Thankfully she had not destroyed it.

She was not done however, shifting her position, she hefted the naginata over her shoulder and threw it with such force it caused a small shockwave, it surfaced over the water stream, cutting through cleanly, the attack never once slowing its momentum as it finally buried itself into the water mask, piercing the stole heart behind it.

Kakuzu let out a grunt as he felt his connection to the water heart sever. She had thrown her weapon with such strength even he had trouble following it. The missing-nin weighted his options as he commanded the lightning mask to rise again. Using his wind and fire masks with their elemental attacks against her would be a moot point. Wind would strengthen her flames, and fire, well the outcome with that was obvious. The woman's mastery of fire would just render his own flames useless.

Though she proved herself capable of meeting him head on in melee, he found that option to be the most viable as attacking at range did not work. And he doubted the odds of that working this time now that his water mask was broken. He commanded his masks to attack, with unnatural movements they dashed towards the warrior woman, Kakuzu himself trailing closely behind.

Tomoe ran towards her naginata, buried between that now formless mass of threads and cables, and picked it up with a swift movement. With sword and polearm in hand, she met the former Taki-nin and his puppets directly. The wind mask leapt at her, slashing with its claws, the red sword parried the strike as the naginata cut the construct in half, missing its heart which allowed it to reform soon after.

Tomoe crouched, avoiding the sweeping strike from the lightning mask, before delivering a strong counter with the blunt end of her polearm, sending the mask back. Kakuzu and his fire mask struck at once, extending his arm with his threads to maintain some distance. With a kick she swatted the hand away, her naginata spinning in her hand the tiger-like fire mask jumped towards her, its blade buried into the construct's belly as she moved it out of the way.

The missing-nin growled in growing frustration, his mask fell from his face as hundreds of small threads escaped from his mouth, his back opening up to reveal writhing mass of that same material. With a war cry, he launched a wave of cables that threated to fall down open the woman like a deadly rain.

Tomoe's blazing red eyes narrowed, and with a swing of her sword she fired a swath of flames that incinerated the incoming attack. Though his strike had been halted, Kakuzu meanwhile commanded his masks to form up around her, leaving her no direction to escape, as he and his hearts dashed towards her at great speed, intending to strike from all directions at once with no opening.

As they were but a feet away from her, claws and cables poised to strike her down, Tomoe slammed the end of her naginata on the ground, creating a shockwave of flames that sent Kakuzu and his masks soaring backwards. Not wasting any time, Tomoe let her weapons vanish in flames, jumping high in the air as in her hands manifested a large ornate longbow, arrows materializing in her fingers from flames alone. Three shots, each one hit their mark, falling like flaming meteors they struck Kakuzu's masks, shrouding their bodies in flames and immolating them, rending the hearts inside them to ash.

Kakuzu, regaining his footing, cried out in both rage and anger. "Why you...!" A flaming arrow struck his knee, forcing him down. "Ugh!" His cables quickly formed a domed defense around him, yet as the arrows kept raining down, they pierced through them cleanly while also burning them away with hungry flames, burying themselves into multiple parts of his limbs.

Kakuzu's body was agony, his arms and limbs riddled with arrows, fire searing away at cables and what remained of his true flesh. He couldn't even stand up; his legs had long since given out.

"C-Can't be!" He growled in growing desperation. The only time he had found himself so thoroughly beaten was against the Shodai... "Who- What are you?!"

The warrior woman gracefully landed on the ground, those hellish eyes of her bearing down on him as she approached.

His dark eyes soon widened in realization. "Ahhh, those flames, that chakra of yours, I see..." He coughed, "I'm old enough... to have met some of your kind before. Usually many were killed at birth... demon spawn"

"I may be of demon blood" She softly replied, walking ever closer to him. "But my heart and soul are completely human" She stood before him, and he didn't even have the strength to muster one last attack. "And the duty I uphold commands me to take down people like you, those who have hurt the innocent"

Kakuzu glared at her, "I refuse to die to someone so naive... to someone who believes there is anything of worth in this world"

Tomoe did not reply; she merely grabbed a hold of the cables still connected to his body. And with a show of superhuman strength, she threw him high into the air, beyond even the tree line.

The warrior woman took aim, her arrow shrouding in flames, emanating such heat it looked like her entire form was covered in fire. "By the radiance of Amaterasu!"

She let the arrow loose, the ground around her cracking with the sheer force.

In the air, Kakuzu's eyes widened as he saw the projectile coming towards him, he could only stare as his doom, powerless to do anything to stop it.

"Burn, devour, anything and everything!"

The missile impacted him, and then there was light everywhere.

It shone like a representation of the sun, a symbol once found in the banners of an old country, in a forgotten age. The night became day for a moment, as Kakuzu's body was reduced to nothing but cinders in the wind.

The sun ceased to shine, and darkness returned once more.

Tomoe let out a sigh, she stared at the flames around her, still consuming the forest, and winced. Discarding her bow, she closed her eyes and raised her hands, letting out a long controlled breath; the flames began to die down as she lowered her arms.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, FUCK!" She turned as Hidan bellowed in a slew of curses; "Kakuzu you stupid fuck!" He continued ranting as Tomoe approached him. He only growled like a feral beast as the sage of flame stood over him; "Go fuck yourself you fucking bitch!"

Tomoe did not rise from his words as she knelt down; "Where are they hiding priest?" His response was spitting blood on her feet. "Your ally is dead and you're a severed head. Admit defeat and tell me what I want to know."

At that Hidan laughed with a sneer; "And what's that? The fact your little flower group lost like pussies to our lord the first time!" He cried out as Tomoe grabbed him by the hair and lifted him up; "Your Gods lost! You sages lost! Our lord shattered the world in judgement! WE WON!" He roared in growing insane manner.

The sage of flames only glared back; this man was too loyal and insane to ever give up any information. "The fight is far from lost. As long as one of us draws breathe."

"Spoken like goodie two-shoes pansy." Hidan spat before smiling in malicious glee; "Master Bai Shen will revel in slaughtering you."

Her red eyes narrowed at the mention of that name; "So he yet lives..." She mused in thought.

"That sunny boy's flames didn't end him" The priest replied smugly. "Oh they scarred him, but he FEEDS on the pain they left. Hunt us down as much as you like, this world will be ours in the end..."

"You carry too much faith for a hopeless cause" She sternly replied. "You say we lost, that we failed this world that your god won" She leaned closer to the severed head. "But your god is dead"

"Then why are you looking for us so desperately?" Hidan rhetorically asked, when she didn't answer, he did it for her. "Because you know gods don't remain dead forever" He started chuckling, which soon evolved into a full maddened cackle. "Soon the Bloody One shall arise and baptize this world in a sea of blood! With a sword in hand the heavens shall be cleaved, the oceans shall part before the Great One's majesty! And the faithful shall be rewarded with paradise!"

Tomoe made a sound of disgust, deciding that chasing this mad zealot had been a waste of time. Letting go of the lunatic's head she turned and left him to his fate, knowing eventually his immortality would give up due to a lack of nutrients for the brain. She had other pressing matters to attend to.

As he watched her leave, Hidan continued his ravings, almost like he was quoting passages from a sacred text. "Praised be the true master of mankind! Praised be the heir of the sky! Lord of war and blood! Who gave us the gift of carnage to purify the Earth!"

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

Ancient ruins glowed underneath the moonlight as two figures sat on fallen pillars. "Brother Hidan has failed..." A deep ancient, and partially distorted voice spoke from a man with a red hooded cloak over armor. Leaning against his shoulder was a larger sinister looking scythe made of pure black metal. His face shadowed from his hood, he held a pendant with an upside down triangle in his hand. Neither anger of disappointment came from him as he spoke; "It seems the sages are on the move."

"Despite his madness, Hidan did prove a useful tool." A smooth masculine voice remarked back.

The hooded figure turned to his 'comrade' who wore a refined, ornate black and gold changshan with no sleeves. The man had a strong muscular build with a defined chiseled face and long slicked back hair. His almond eyes he bore shone with mocking amusement.

"Jest however you like Zu Zhang. At least Hidan was loyal."

"I am loyal Bai Shen. To the powerful. Of course, no one is more powerful than our master, hmm?"

"Hmph" The hooded Bai Shen huffed in irritation. The sorcerer had never been quite enlightened by their god as the rest of the loyal followers were. Were it up to him, he'd have gotten rid of Zu Zhang a long time ago, a man who craved power above all else was liable to betray them at any opportunity.

But it wasn't his place, and in the end they all were useful tools for their master.

"So, the events we have placed are into motion at long last" Almond shaped eyes turned to the hooded one. "Shall we proceed?"

The scythe wielder could not keep the grin from forming on his lips. "Yes... it's about time. Though while most of the order must remain in the shadows, it'll be quite a pleasant change to act more directly now"

"Just make sure not to blow your cover" The sorcerer's smooth voice said in a reprimanding tone. "Your ability to lie will be paramount for success. Do not let your zealotry blind you"

"Bah, you worry too much" Bai Shen scoffed. "All you need to do to earn a false god's trust is to stroke his ego"

Zu Zhang stood up, adjusting his robes and cleaning them from any dust, regally crossing his arms behind his back. "I will go find the snake then. His kind is easy to persuade after all" He began walking away without giving his companion a last look.

Bai Zhen smiled widely, "You would know, after all, you two are cut from the same cloth"

The sorcerer stopped momentarily, green mist emanating from his fingertips, as if briefly pondering about striking down the hooded one. With a huff, Zu Zhang decided he had better things to do, and vanished from sight.

Now alone, the hooded one began laughing to himself, growing into a full cackled. "At last, the time has come! To usher the coming of our god and set the stage for the greatest war of this age!" He howled into the night.

And no one would stop them this time. No gods, no sages, no 'heroes' that would rise up to fight them. Not even the Heirs of Rama's will.

"Let it begin!"

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

Tsunade leaned back on her new chair as she looked at Team 7 with their new member Karin who looked over the scroll for their next mission. "Cha no Kuni?" Naruto questioned with a cocked brow.

"The Land of Tea is a minor country near our border." The Senju explained; "Degarashi Port is a major place of commerce for them, but have had two families feuding over it for years."

"They don't have a shinobi village to handle the matters so have brought missions to us a lot of the times." Shizune grinned holding Tonton who oinked.

Sakura gazed to the Godaime; "Kakashi-Sensei isn't joining us?"

"He is busy on a mission, same with Kushina, otherwise I would have sent either with you. We're full-up with missions thanks to the invasion and what happened to sensei. But I have faith in you four. You will be meeting Jirōchō Wasabi, head of the Wasabi family. He is a good man."

Sasuke crossed his arms; "And he wants a guard. Wouldn't his family have their own?"

The Godaime nodded; "They would, but having ninja is an extra; 'better safe than sorry' measure for the coming festival."

"Are we expecting any trouble?" Sakura asked.

"The mission is B-Rank, so yes" Tsunade's lips quirked the moment Naruto got all excited. "It's no secret their rivals, the Wagarashi family, will most likely hire their own ninja as well. So go prepared for a fight"

"Are guard duties our only responsibility?" The Uchiha asked.

"You must do whatever Jirōchō requires of you during the festival. Apparently it's of great importance because it involves a competition that will determine which family shall receive the administration rights over the town"

"Wait, they're leaving something so important to a festival?" It didn't sound right to Naruto, "What does their Daimyo say about that?"

"It was their daimyo who proposed it in the first place" The Godaime replied. "Having grown tired of the families' feud, he arranged for the town's ownership to go to the victor, to prevent further bloodshed between the clans and any civilian casualty caught in the middle"

Karin adjusted her glasses; "And the Land of Fire would prefer the Wasabi family ruling the port. More goods, money, and commerce for us." Her analytical side spoke, taking stock.

"You are correct. While officially we're neutral. Unofficially it would be in our interest to have the right family claiming the port." Tsunade interlocked her fingers as she rested her elbows on the desk. "So, are you up for it Team 7?"

"Yes Godaime-Sama/Baachan." The older blond felt her eye twitch at her grandson's lack of formality. Shizune only giggled while Naruto was grilled by Sakura and Karin who reprimanded him.

 _'By all the gods above let this not turn into a mess.'_ Tsunade mentally prayed.

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX ~ xx ~ XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

 _ **From Arch-Daishou00 and Etheral-23**_

 _ **This is just a stats list for the characters in Shoton of Konoha. Mostly doing it 'cause we thought it be fun and helpful to those who like the fic and wanna know more about characters' skills and capabilities, as well as traits and all. Some bio as well perhaps, as well as concepts and events we'll explain in further detail once they are uncovered in the story.**_

 _ **The Naruto official stat system confuses us sometimes, so we decided to instead of using numbers we'll use a letter system. Like in Type-Moon for its Fate franchise.**_

 _ **It'll receive updates as we reveal new things about characters and they develop through the story**_

 _ **You can find the**_ _ **Shoton of Konoha Codex**_ _ **in ethereal-23's profile**_

 _ **As a special guest, here's Kushina providing commentary and details:**_

" _You should have put me in the War Arc, Kishimoto! It was the perfect chance!"_

* * *

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

* * *

Kushina Uzumaki ( _Lady of all that is Badass_!)

 **Basic stats:**

Strength: B+ ( _Can't hit as strong as Tsunade, but you will fear my fist all the same!)_

Intelligence: B

Speed: B

Stamina: A

Chakra level: A+

Taijutsu: A

Genjutsu: D ( _Illusions suck anyway_ )

Ninjutsu: B+ ( _I used to suck BALLS at this_ )

 **Personal attributes:**

Kenjutsu: A

Trained from a young age in the art of the blade, Kushina boasts a great prowess with a sword.

( _Always wanted to fight the samurais from the Land of Steel, hell I would have settled for the samurai at the capital_ )

 **Uzumaki bloodline** :

Being a pure born member of the Uzumaki clan, Kushina possesses an exceptionally strong lifeforce, chakra and stamina.

She is one of the rare few individuals of the clan born with the power to bring forth the Adamantine Chains. These chains made out of solid chakra can restrain and bind opponents, particularly effective when used in conjunction with sealing. Kushina has shown she is capable of even using them as focal points to erect barriers.

These golden chains are highly effective against beings made out of solid energy, as well as unholy or impure existences such as demons. Effectiveness is highly reduced against ordinary mortal beings.

While possessing great reach, the chains are not very fast, and so she uses them more against larger and slower opponents that are in close proximity.

( _Basically, we redheads are a pure win. Deal with it_ )

 **Fūinjutsu: S**

Like those of her clan, Kushina is a born adept of the sealing arts. She can create complex arrays, such as individual seals, barrier and field arrays, with a simple press of her palm in only a few seconds, as well as re-write seals done by other people.

A favorite tactics of hers is applying elemental effects to her weapons, namely fire. While her skill with fire techniques is C+ at best, her use of seals and chakra control raise that proficiency close to A Rank.

She can also temporary increase her strength and overall physical abilities for a short period of time through seals. But overuse will put severe strain on the body.

( _Who do you think taught the Yondaime all he knew? But I'm still far from being as good as Tsukiko-baachan. I hope she's still proud of how far I've come_ )

 **Wind Element: A**

Possessing wind affinity, Kushina has mastered the use of wind elemental techniques. She can do B and A Rank techniques with a reduced number hand signs and reduced cost in chakra.

( _Can't come up with good technique names to save my life. It's like the opposite problem of Minato's, 'ttebane…_ )

 **Water Element: A**

Possessing water affinity, Kushina has mastered the use of water elemental techniques. She can do B and A Rank techniques with a reduced number hand signs and reduced cost in chakra.

( _My mom used to take me to the beach in Uzu all the time… I wish Naruto could have met her_ )

 **Summoning; Dragon Contract**

The Uzumaki are longtime allies and friends of the Eastern Sea clan, to the point they are considered family. Legends say the Uzumaki clan started by a sage taking a dragon for a wife.

( _Don't ask me, apparently true shapeshifting makes having kids with a completely different species possible_ …)

Kushina has signed the dragon contract, allowing her to summon a good number of the heavenly serpents. She is well liked amongst the dragon clan, so many will answer her calling, particularly the current Dragon Chief, Genryu.

( _I did say shapeshifting to have kids was a thing right? Well get this. My grandma Tsukiko is the daughter of a freaking dragon and a human. Crazy right? And get this; Genryu is her half-brother… the fact that Genryu is my grand-uncle sometimes slips my mind. I mean, not a lot of family resemblance there with the scales and all_ …)

 **Bio:**

Kind yet fierce. Driven yet kind. Kushina boosts an unending love for life and energy. Along with a disposition many consider 'childish' in the excessive. She is also very infamous for her hair trigger temper.

( _Who the hell called me 'childish'!? Gimme their names, I'll fuck them up_!)

Orphaned at a young age but was adopted by Tsunade Senju. Her homeland and Uzumaki family destroyed. Friends and comrades who died in the battlefield as she grew older. Kushina's life could be summed up as one tragedy after the other.

( _It wasn't all that bad. A lot of really awesome people became my family_ )

But Uzumaki are anything if not stubborn. Where many would have crumbled, she fought on and kept moving forward. Under the tutelage of the legendary White Fang, Kushina rose through the ranks and joined the elite of the ANBU.

But even the hardest stones can whether with time. Faced with many difficult decisions, carrying on the dark deeds necessary for village's prosperity, she began to develop a ruthless side to her, particularly if her targets had anything to do with the fall of Uzu.

At the behest of then Captain Fox, now Commander Fox of the ANBU core, Kushina retired after a particularly difficult mission where she had proposed unnecessary collateral to take out their target.

( _I'm not proud of what I became during those days… I never got over what happened to my clan. So I took every chance at revenge I could with extreme prejudice. So much death, on all sides and for what? Money, power, prestige? Baa-chan was right, this system is broken. Minato may have been too naïve at times, but he saw it too. But I'm no pacifist; I don't know what it takes for this world to improve. I'm a fighter; I will fight to remove monsters from who threaten this world. That's what I know_ )

Kushina will show great care and devotion to those she loves, and will show a terrifying side of herself if anyone dares harming her family.

( _Naruto… I never thought these bloodied hands of mine could ever make something so beautiful. But I did, Minato and me both did… Konoha is not my land of birth, but it is my home all the same. Anyone ever dares harming them, I will tear them apart_ )

…

…

…

( _Yeeeesh, when did this get so mopey 'ttebane? I thought my job here was to make funny quips! Shuddap, I'm not crying, you're crying_!)


End file.
